WISPIRG
thanked Governor Doyle for signing AB 912 into law at a ceremony in New
Berlin today. Assembly Bill 912, authored by Representative Jeff
Fitzgerald (Beaver Dam), would give consumers a tool to protect
themselves against fraud and identity theft. Assembly Bill 912 was
adopted by the Assembly ninety-seven to zero on January 26 and passed
the Senate on March 9.
“WISPIRG
thanks Representative Jeff Fitzgerald for authoring this legislation to
give consumers the tools they need to protect themselves against fraud
and identity theft,” said Jennifer Giegerich, WISPIRG state director.
“We applaud Governor Doyle for signing AB 912 into law so that
Wisconsin can join the handful of states that have adopted security
freeze legislation.”
AB
912 allows consumers to protect themselves against fraud and identity
theft by placing a Security Freeze. A Security Freeze is the right to
control access to one’s own credit report by protecting it with a
passcode, akin to your ATM PIN. A potential creditor will not issue
credit without reviewing a consumer’s credit report, and if only the
consumer can grant access to their credit report, thieves won't be able
to get new credit in the consumer’s name. Consumers can lift the freeze
when they want to access new credit. With the right to a Security
Freeze, Wisconsinites can end new account fraud and identity theft.
New
account fraud cost businesses $10,200 per victim, totaling of $32.9
billion a year. On top of the cost to business, new account fraud costs
each victim an average of $1,180 of their own money, totaling $3.8
billion a year.
Identity
theft is a terrible and growing problem, largely because personal
information is a hot commodity. According to the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC), 2,646 Wisconsin residents were victims of identity
theft in 2004. Victims of identity theft spend an average of $808 of
their own money and 175 hours actively working to clean up their credit
reports and other complications.
