Delaware Puts the 'Freeze' on Identity Thieves
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2006-08-03 15:49:42.820685-04:00
You might have seen one of those commercials where a man's voice is coming out of a woman's body—or vice versa. That's identity theft. Someone else "becomes" you and gets things like credit cards, loans, mortgages, a job or a house—in your name—and leaves you footing the bill.
People who have had their identity stolen have faced ruined credit, been turned down for jobs or a place to live, their wages garnished or driver's license revoked—even arrested.
One of the ways to deter this new type of criminal activity has just been signed into law by Governor Ruth Ann Minner. The new Clean Credit and Identity Theft Protection Act signed on June 30, will allow Delawareans to restrict who can view their credit reports. Appropriately called a "Security Freeze," individuals can stop unauthorized access to credit reports that include their Social Security numbers, bank account information, birth dates and other personal information.
Identity Theft is becoming one of our nation's fastest growing financial crimes. According to the Federal Trade Commission, Delaware ranked 17th in the number of identity theft victims in 2005. Each year identity theft costs businesses $50 billion and costs individuals nearly $5 billion. But, monetary loss is not the only hardship to those who have had their identities stolen.
This new law will give all Delawareans the means to place restrictions as to who may view their credit reports and will enable consumers to freeze or lock their credit files from view by a third party without the individual's consent. Those placing a "freeze" on their information will be able to lift the freeze at any time to allow authorized access to their credit files.
How Can You Protect Your Identity?
To enact a security freeze, you'll need to send a certified letter to each of the three major credit bureaus requesting that your credit report information be frozen. Under this new Delaware law, each credit bureau can charge $20 initially to set up the freeze—so your initial cost to cover your information with all three bureaus will be $60.
By January 31, 2009, the law mandates that the credit bureaus will be required to accept requests by e-mail as well as certified mail.
Once you have "frozen" your information, you may need to periodically "thaw" your credit report information if you would like to obtain a new credit card or if you are applying for a loan. You may also need to "thaw" your information if you move and apply for a new utility or insurance.
You may need to temporarily unlock your information in order to open a new account. You'll be able to unlock your account by using a personal PIN number provided by the credit bureau.
Initially the law permits the bureaus to take up to three business days after receiving a request to thaw an account, but by January 31, 2009 the bureaus will be required to honor any thaw requests within 15 minutes of receiving a request by telephone or e-mail. One major benefit of the new Delaware law is that unlike many other states, the credit bureaus are not permitted to charge for the "thawing" of credit report information. The new Clean Credit and Identity Theft Protection Act will become effective beginning October 2, 2006. The contact information for each bureau is listed below.
Equifax
1-800-685-1111
Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30358
Experian
1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion
1-800-916-8800
TransUnion Security Freeze
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
A March 2006 Delaware survey of individuals 18 and older indicated that 79% of respondents supported security freeze legislation in Delaware. Now it's up to you to take advantage of this new law that can help you protect your own identity.
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