Financial Privacy & Security News

Click here to see Consumer Advocate Eric Bourassa speak with WBZ about the victory. 

Consumers in Massachusetts have won a great victory against the growing crime of identity theft. With the passage of a new law today, consumers will have new tools to prevent identity before it happens.

We applaud Governor Patrick and the legislature in passing a comprehensive reform. And we appreciate the great work of State Representatives Michael Costello, William Straus, former Senator Jarrett Barrios, the Joint House and Senate Chairs of the Consumer Protection Committee Representative Michael Rodrigues and Senator Michael Morrissey, Attorney General Martha Coakley and Office of Consumer Affairs Director Dan Crane. 

This wide-ranging law will address the problem of identity theft on several fronts. It will set standards for how consumer information is protected and disposed of. It will require entities that store this type of data to notify affected individuals when it is lost or stolen. And it allows consumers to proactively prevent identity thieves from opening credit in their name by blocking access to their credit reports.

Since 2005 we have seen hundreds of security breaches that have released personal information on millions of Americans. Breaches affecting Massachusetts residents include the TJX Company, the Veterans Affairs Administration, Fidelity Investments, Bank of America, and the Boston Globe. These security breaches leave people at a heightened risk of identity theft.

According to the Federal Trade Commission identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the nation, affecting approximately 10 million Americans annually, and costing consumers and businesses $52 billion a year.

This is also a huge problem for law enforcement, costing time and money to investigate what will now be a more preventable  crime.

###  

Consumer Protections The Identity Theft Prevention Law Will Address

Safeguards of Consumer Personal Information. The Office of Consumer Affairs and Businesses Regulation, and the Division of Public Records will set standards for how businesses and government agencies must protect consumers’ information to avoid a security breach.

Breach Notification. Requires commercial entities and government agencies to notify affected consumers if enough of their personal information to commit identity theft has been lost or stolen, and to do this in a timely manner.

Credit Report Security Freeze. Enables consumers to “lock” their credit report, preventing would be identity thieves from taking out credit in their name, and caps the fees to place, lift and remove the freeze at $5. There is no fee for victims of identity theft.

Disposal Requirements. Mandates that documents containing enough personal information about a consumer that could be used to commit identity theft, be properly disposed of so that the information cannot be practicably read.

Consumer Access to Their Own Police Report.  Allows a victim of identity theft to get a copy of their police report from any law enforcement office, even if the crime did not occur in that jurisdiction. Victims need a copy of their police report to clean up the financial mess resulting from identity theft and to qualify for the free security freeze.