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Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Consumer advocates say Ohio needs law making service available
Published on Sunday, Oct 07, 2007
We Ohioans are among consumers in 11 states lacking powerful protection against identity thieves. That's because we don't have a state law that allows us to freeze access to our credit reports.
A credit freeze is a tool for victims or potential victims of identity theft to ''freeze'' out inquiries into their credit report for new accounts. Consumers would then have the ability to temporarily lift, or ''thaw,'' access if they're seeking new credit, so the potential creditor can get information.
However, our situation in Ohio will change shortly and possibly on two fronts.
Starting Oct. 15, TransUnion will be the first of the three credit-reporting agencies to offer consumers in all states the ability to freeze their credit report for a $10 initial fee, regardless of whether there is a state law in place. It would also cost $10 each time to ''thaw,'' or lift, the freeze. (It would not cost another $10 to reinstate the freeze. The fee to lift the freeze includes putting it back in place.) The credit freeze would be free for victims of identity theft.
That was a good start. But for a person's credit to be completely protected, it would be necessary for all three credit bureaus to offer the freeze. Creditors use all three of the bureaus, and consumers don't have a say in which is used. So having a freeze on one bureau's report but not the others' wouldn't be effective.
The other two bureaus now say they too will offer the credit freezes to consumers in all states for a fee. On Thursday, Experian said it will begin offering the freezes for the same $10 fee to place and lift the freeze (it's free for identify-theft victims) on Nov. 1. Equifax officials have said they intend to offer the freeze by the end of October, but they haven't announced their fee structure or details.
But it shouldn't end there. And it won't.
State legislators have been working on a bill that would give Ohioans the ability to freeze their credit reports for $5 and to temporarily lift the freeze for $5. It also would allow the thaw to be completed over the phone, to give consumers access to their report within 15 minutes. Credit bureaus now require the freeze to be implemented by mail. Some are offering the thaw via phone and a PIN number. Experian is working out the details of its thaw, but a spokesman said the bureau hopes to allow consumers to thaw their reports by phone or online.
Consumer groups have called on all three credit bureaus to offer the freezes and thaws for $5 instead of $10 and to offer the thaw options by mail, phone and online.
(For states that have specific laws outlining fees and ways you can thaw your credit, those would supersede the credit bureaus' general rules.)
A credit freeze bill passed the Ohio House in the spring, but a more comprehensive bill in the Senate has been in hearings this month. A substitute version of the bill, which also includes protections to remove personal information such as Social Security numbers from public records available on the Internet, was introduced Tuesday. If it passes the Senate, it would have to go back to the House for a vote.
Ron Bridges, director of government affairs for AARP Ohio, which has lobbied for a credit-freeze law for several years, said the substitute bill seems to have momentum and support.
But Bridges said legislators and consumers should ''not be hoodwinked'' into thinking the state doesn't needs its own law because the national credit bureaus are offering freezes. Consumers should also be aware of the more expensive credit-freeze products offered by the credit bureaus. (TransUnion offers a more expensive monthly service that enables customers to freeze or unfreeze their reports instantly online.)
''We've got to get an Ohio law so we have comprehensive protection of our personal financial information,'' said Bridges. Although Ohio is behind because it lacks a credit-freeze law, the current version of the bill would put the state in the forefront in terms of protection, he said.
Allowing only a $5 fee on placing the credit freeze would mean couples would have to pay only $30 to freeze both of their credit reports at all three bureaus, instead of the $60 total incurred under the $10 fees being implemented by the bureaus, said Bridges.
Bill sponsor Sen. Tom Niehaus, R-New Richmond, said he's encouraged that the credit bureaus have begun offering the freezes, but he believes an Ohio law with better protections for consumers is necessary.
''The fact is we don't have it, and we need it. My goal is to get it done as quickly as possible,'' he said.
Niehaus said he thinks a new state law could go into effect by the first quarter of next year.
Whether a consumer should actually use a credit freeze is an individual decision.
Michelle Jun, a staff attorney for Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, said credit freezes are a good preventive tool for consumers to keep identity thieves out of their credit information. Essentially you keep the gate closed until you want to open it for potential creditors to look inside.
But Jay Foley, co-director of the Identity Theft Resource Center, said people shouldn't be overzealous in placing credit freezes on their reports. He suggested credit freezes be used by victims of identity theft, active members of the military who are out of the country, or senior citizens who might have issues with dementia.
''It's not something for someone who is going to be using their credit a half dozen times a year,'' said Foley. ''It's also not the end-all, it's-going-to-protect-you-100-percent security device. It's one tool.''
For consumers who have been victims of security breaches, in which personal information might have been exposed but no identity theft has taken place, Foley suggests placing a fraud alert a free notice to creditors that your information has been breached. Fraud alerts can include instructions with a phone number usually for a cell phone where you can be reached if someone is seeking credit in your name.
Another thing to know about credit freezes: They do not stop anyone from accessing your credit report; they block access to new credit. Exemptions allow credit checks, for example, by financial institutions that may have a relationship with you, or by your insurance company, which is more often looking at your credit report to determine your rates.
Even with a credit freeze, you can still get free copies of your credit reports; you are entitled to one a year from each bureau (www.annualcreditreport.com or 877-322-8228).
If credit freezes are a tool you want, make sure to let your state legislators know.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@ thebeaconjournal.com.
We Ohioans are among consumers in 11 states lacking powerful protection against identity thieves. That's because we don't have a state law that allows us to freeze access to our credit reports.
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