https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Legislature-adopts-consumer-protections-following-12984906.php
Legislature adopts consumer protections following data breach
Fees for unfreezing, freezing credit would be set aside under legislation
Published 2:19 pm, Monday, June 11, 2018
ALBANY - Protecting your personal information could become free in New York.
The state Legislature is advancing a bill that would prohibit consumer-credit agencies from charging a fee for initiating a credit security freeze, which is a common preventative measure following a data breach, such as the hack of Equifax last year that resulted in the disclosure of sensitive information for more than 143 million people.
The new restriction would prevent the agencies from potentially raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in fees.
New Yorkers currently aren't charged for their first security freeze, but they can be charged up to $5 to unfreeze their credit, which is necessary to apply for a new credit card or a loan, and can be charged $5 to freeze their credit again.
Once someone's personal information becomes compromised, it is recommended that they freeze their credit reports with the three major credit agencies to prevent scammers from stealing their identity.
"Credit bureaus should not be profiting off the credit freezes that consumers have to do as the result of a credit bureau's own negligence," bill sponsor Assemblyman David Buchwald, D-White Plains, said.
State Sen. Rich Funke, a Rochester-area Republican, who carries the bill in the state Senate, said it's important for consumers to be able to freeze and unfreeze their credit because they're constantly susceptible to having their information stolen.
"It's just a different world out there now," Funke said.
The fees that credit-reporting agencies can charge vary from state to state. Fees are also waved in some cases in New York for victims of identity theft or domestic violence.
Equifax eliminated fees to freeze or unfreeze its credit reports following their breach last year until the end of this month. "So we would very much like to have this bill become law as soon as possible," Buchwald said.
He added that people need to be vigilant against the threat of identity theft for months and even years after their data becomes compromised, warning that some scammers wait until people let their guard down to act.
The state Senate passed the bill on Monday. A version of the legislation passed the state Assembly earlier in the session and the final version is expected to pass the chamber before legislators go home for the year on June 20.
Buchwald would also like faster disclosure of data breaches or potential data breaches so consumers can take steps to protect themselves. He noted that Equifax waited "unacceptably long" before letting the public know their information may have been compromised.
David.Lombardo@timesunion.com - 518.454.5427 - @poozer87
