How Many Freeze States Are There Now? Posted
by Michelle at 05/17/07 02:49 PM
Many state legislatures have either wrapped up, or are in the process of winding down. If your state did not yet offer the security freeze, you may be in luck as a number of states have passed legislation to provide you with this preventative identity theft tool.
Wyoming, New Mexico, West Virginia, Montana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Indiana have passed laws this session and Washington has expanded its security freeze to all consumers. Find out if you live in one of the 35 states or the District of Columbia which offers the security freeze to its residents, by going to www.FinancialPrivacyNow.org and clicking on the map, or by clicking here.
comments
(6)
1
Posted by chris higgins at 06/06/07 10:55 AM
I saw an article about california ab 779 that deals with securing payment card data. Have you had a chance to take a look at it? If so what is your take on it?
2
Posted by Michelle at 06/18/07 06:55 PM
Yes, Consumers Union is supporting AB 779.
3
Posted by Amanda at 07/16/07 04:16 PM
i live in CA, a state that does offer security freeze, and wanted to use it today. but I see that it costs money. $10 to each credit reporting agency, adds up to $30. While it doesn't cost anything to victims of identity theft. do you think there will be some push to make the service available to everyone at no cost? will CU push for that so all people can use security freeze?
4
Posted by Michelle at 07/19/07 05:19 PM
Yes, the fee in California is $10 per credit bureau to place the security freeze if you are not yet an ID theft victim. However, there have been a number of states who have passed laws where the fee goes from free to about $5 to place the freeze. There have not been recent efforts to change the fees in California. We will continue to push for a low-cost, easy to use security freeze for all consumers.
5
Posted by JC at 07/24/07 05:05 PM
ARIZONA should be ONE of the states included on the list for potential CONSUMER FREEZE to their credit. There is no protection for consumers regarding identity theft. Anyone can see or use your private information such as, SSN, BD, find out where you live, phone#, address, etc.. We need the Government to step up, and do their jobs, after all we are the ones who ELECTED THEM.
6
Posted by Doug McRae at 08/01/07 11:32 AM
I was pleased to see that Louisiana was on the list, and especially pleased to see that it was free to persons over the age of 62, which I am. However, I found that you must send a certified letter with your information (including a photocopy of your driver's licence and a recent utility bill or bank statement) to each of the three agencies to activate the security freeze. A 41 cent stamp plus a $2.65 certified letter fee for each letter equals $9.18.
Also, Equifax does not make it easy to find the security freeze information on their website. When I clicked on the link for Equifax info on security freeze from the Louisiana Attorney General website (linked to in CU's article online), I got a 404 message. When I went to the Equifax home page and typed Security Freeze into the Search box, the search webpage tells me "Sorry, no matches were found containing security freeze"! I finally found it using the FAQ section. Experian and TransUnion websites had the security freeze info on an easy to find webpage.
