State Security Freeze Laws

Laws that help protect your identity and credit report

From the RD News Desk

ConsumersUnion.Org reports Identity theft is one of the fastest growing financial crimes. Nearly 10 million Americans fall victim each year, and the Identity Theft Resource Center reported in 2004, victims spent an average of 330 hours resolving problems as a result of identity theft and paid between $851 and $1378 in out of pocket expenses (excluding a median of $4000 per victim in lost wages in 2004). Identity theft also costs U.S. businesses nearly $48 billion annually, and consumers an additional $5 billion per year.

A security freeze lets consumers stop thieves from getting credit in their names. A security freeze locks, or freezes, access to the consumer credit report and credit score. Without this information, a business will not issue new credit to a thief. When the consumer wants to get new credit, he or she uses a PIN to unlock access to the credit file. The following states give consumers this important weapon to prevent identity theft:

California
Applies to all consumers
Effective Jan. 1, 2003, subsequently amended to cap fees on non-ID theft victims
No fee for victims to place the freeze, others pay up to $10 per freeze Caps fee to lift freeze at $10 for temporary lifting for a time, $12 for temporary lift for one creditor
California Civil Code sections 1785.11.2-1785.11.6.
How to place your security freeze in California and a link to the text of the California statute, see: http://www.privacyprotection.ca.gov/sheets/cis10securityfreeze.htm

Colorado
SB 05-137
Applies to all consumers
Fees: No fee for first freeze; $10 to place a second freeze, $10 to lift, $12 for temporarily lift for one creditor
Signed June 1, 2005
Effective date: July 1, 2006
Text of statute: http://www.leg.state.co.us/Clics2005a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/349195C4D17F1A7787256F8E0001202B?Open&file=137_enr.pdf
For more information on the security freeze law in Colorado, see: http://www.ago.state.co.us/idtheft/securityfreeze.cfm

Connecticut
SB 650
Applies to all consumers
Fees: $10 to place, lift, or lift temporarily, $12 to life for one creditor
Effective date: Jan. 1, 2006
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/act/Pa/2005PA-00148-R00SB-00650-PA.htm
For more information on the security freeze law in Connecticut, see:
http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?A=1949&Q=293270

Illinois
HB 1058
Victims of ID theft only, with a police report or a complaint to a law enforcement agency
No fees permitted
Effective date: Jan 1, 2006
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=094-0074

Louisiana
Applies to all consumers
Fees: $10 to place, $8 to lift, no fees for ID theft victims or persons age 62 or older
Passed July 2004 Effective date: July 1, 2005
Louisiana Statutes Annotated § 9.3571(H) to (Y)
How to place your security freeze in Louisiana:
http://www.ag.state.la.us/calerts/alert0015.aspx

Maine
Applies to all consumers
Fees: No fees on ID theft victims who provide a police report. Others pay up to $10 to place, remove, temporarily suspend, or have PIN reissued, and $12 to lift for a specific creditor.
Effective date: Feb. 1, 2006.
For more information on statute: http://janus.state.me.us/legis/LawMakerWeb/externalsiteframe.asp?ID=280015326&LD=581&Type=1&SessionID=6

Nevada
Applies to all consumers
Fees: No for ID theft victims who submit a police report, for others $15 to place, $18 to lift, $20 to lift for one creditor
Effective date: October 1, 2005.
For more information on statute: http://www.leg.state.nv.us/73rd/bills/SB/SB80_EN.pdf

New Jersey
Applies to all consumers
Fees: No fee for initial freeze. Up to $5 to remove, temporarily lift or have PIN reissued. Consumers are also permitted to make such requests directly to consumer reporting agencies via secured electronic mail.
Effective date: January 1, 2006
Text of statute: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2004/Bills/S2000/1914_R1.PDF
For more information on the security freeze law in New Jersey, see:
http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/governor/njnewsline/view_article.pl?id=2732
How to place your security freeze in New Jersey:
http://www.njdobi.org/creditfreeze.htm

North Carolina
Applies to all consumers
No fees for ID theft victims with valid report/complaint with law enforcement agency. Up to $10 to place, remove, temporarily suspend.
Effective date: December 1, 2005
For more information on statute:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2005/Bills/Senate/HTML/S1048v6.html
How to place your security freeze in North Carolina:
http://www.ncdoj.com/DocumentStreamerClient?directory=Publications&file=securityfreeze.pdf

Texas
Applies to identity theft victims with a police report
No fees
Placement at one CRA must be honored by all
Passed June 2003 Effective date: September 1, 2003
Texas Business & Commerce Code Ann. § 20.031 to 20.039
Text of statute (see Chapter 20, Section 031 - REQUESTING SECURITY ALERT from link below): http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/bc.toc.htm

Vermont
Applies to identity theft victims with a police report or a complaint to a law enforcement agency
No fees
Passed June 2004 Effective date: July 1, 2005
Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 9, Sections 2480a to 2480j
Text of statute: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/legdoc.cfm?URL=/docs/2004/acts/ACT155.HTM
How to place your security freeze in Vermont, see: http://www.atg.state.vt.us/display.php?smod=198

Washington
Applies to identity theft victims, including persons who receive a notice of a security breach of computerized personal information
No fees
Passed May 9, 2005, Effective date: July 24, 2005
Chapter 342, Laws of 2005, to be codified at Sec. 19.182 RCW.
Text of statute:
http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2005-06/Htm/Bills/Session%20Law%202005/5418.SL.htm
How to place your security freeze in Washington, see:
http://www.atg.wa.gov/AskAG/AskAG_CreditFreeze_20051010.shtml

For more information on security freezes, see the Model State Clean Credit and Identity Theft Protection Act, http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_financial_services/001732.html

Report Source:

http://www.consumersunion.org/campaigns/learn_more/002355indiv.html