Your new weapon against ID theft
Keeping it for an early Christmas gift. On Dec. 4, President George W. Bush signed into law the Fair and Accurate Credit business (FACT) Act of 2003, an updated and improved version of the 1970 Fair Credit Reporting Act, which regulates the ugly world of credit reports, credit ratings And sensitive personal data.The old version was not exactly fair to consumers. Vague rules and minimal enforcement, combined with the rise of the Internet, brought 10 million victims of identity theft in the United States in 2002 alone. The cost: An astonishing $ 53 billion - and that does not include the 300 million people spent hours trying to fix damaged credit records (see BW Online, 8/14/03, “why your ID is so Easy Pickings”).
“More Tools.” The fact Act offers consumers a series of new weapons in their fight against ID theft. But they must remain on guard. “Consumers are still the front line of defence against both its own credit bureau errors and identity theft,” warns Edward Mierzwinski, program director of the consumer advocacy outfit U.S. public interest.
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