CHICAGO—Today Governor Blagojevich signed into law Senate Bill 2310. The new law will allow all Illinois consumers to place a security freeze on their credit report, an important tool that will help prevent new fraud that results from identity theft.
“Thousands of Illinoisans become victims of identity theft every year,” said Brian Imus, State Director for the consumer group Illinois PIRG. “Governor Blagojevich’s action today will help prevent identity theft crime from happening in the first place by giving consumers more control over their personal, financial information.”
A security freeze takes advantage of a simple fact: a new creditor won’t give you credit without checking your credit report. If an identity thief can’t give creditors access to your credit report, creditors won’t let him make purchases in your name.
“The reason for the increase in identity theft is in large part due to the negligent privacy practices of credit bureaus, data brokers and companies that allow this information into too many people's hands,” said Brian Imus. “In 2005 at least 53 million consumers have been placed at risk of identity theft due to privacy breaches – allowing identity thieves access to our financial information”.
The passage of such a law couldn’t come at a more needed time for Illinoisans. Data released earlier this year finds identity theft and the fraud that results is only growing. The Federal Trade Commission reported over 11,000 people in Illinois were victims of identity theft in 2005. That’s almost a 200 percent-jump in identity theft related fraud from the 3,700 reported just 5 years ago.
Victims spend dozens of hours trying to maneuver through the legal and financial channels needed to fix the problems that stem from identity theft. For some, it has taken years to clear their financial reputation. On average, new account fraud costs each victim over $1,000 of out-of-pocket expenses.
Illinois PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) released a white paper last month highlighting steps that can be taken to address identity theft in Illinois and how Illinois fairs compared to other states in addressing this fast growing crime. With the Governor’s signature, Illinois moves closer to leading the nation in preventing identity theft.
