| Sometimes consumers are the last-in-line with news | | | | book filled with your credit cards or checking account |
| and control over their credit status. No longer is that | | | | data, you're not going to stop it by having a gaggle of |
| the case in Connecticut. Spurred by the proactive | | | | politicians pass a credit freeze bill. However, what a |
| Attorney General, Richard Bluementhal, State | | | | credit freeze protection creates is a key "obstacle" |
| legislators joined the hand full of states that have | | | | which you control for impeding any unauthorized |
| decided "enough is enough" in terms of regaining | | | | attempt to obtain your credit records or any like |
| citizens' control over identity theft and criminal attempts | | | | private data that might be contained in your personal |
| to heist bank accounts or commit credit card fraud. No | | | | report. You see, the identity theft bad guys know the |
| matter if you live in New London, New Haven, | | | | drill...they steal your personal data...then they attempt to |
| Greenwich or anywhere else in the Nutmeg State, | | | | apply for new credit cards which they'll use to rapidly |
| you've now got the right to control the release of | | | | max-out credit limits...meanwhile, you won't even know |
| personal credit information.Who's Against The | | | | of the existence of this new credit card until the bill |
| Connecticut Credit Freeze Law? Remarkably the | | | | arrive in the mail.Gotcha! The bad guys get "open |
| players in the credit bureau "front line", namely | | | | running room" for 30 days or more...and then they |
| Experian, Equifax and TransUnion along with many | | | | vanish, leaving you holding the bag and having to |
| consumer credit financial institutions and banks are | | | | unwind a now serious credit problem. In Connecticut at |
| dead-set opposed to credit freezing by "ordinary | | | | least this fraud opportunity will be eliminated for the |
| consumers".Why? They lose out on money. Think of | | | | 20% or more of State residents who take up the |
| your credit report as "intellectual property", however | | | | opportunity to file and pay the fee of $10 per credit |
| with the twist that you don't own it. Yes, it's all about | | | | bureau. Perhaps residents may be motivated to |
| you, what you buy, how well or promptly you settle | | | | freeze credit after reading recent news of the attack |
| your credit obligations. However, to the credit bureaus | | | | on Mastercard and Visa records where over 40 million |
| the 150 million plus individual records represent ongoing | | | | records may have been fraudulently copied by |
| cash flow as credit card companies, department store | | | | unauthorized persons.What The Connecticut Credit |
| retailers, gasoline companies and a raft of other | | | | Freeze Means In Terms Of New Credit Or Employer |
| businesses "churn" business opportunity by offering | | | | Background Checks. Once you impose a credit |
| new low interest credit card facilities.Where | | | | freeze, no banks insurers or any other party can either |
| Connecticut Residents Get Control On New Credit | | | | obtain credit information nor can any new credit be |
| Enquiries. Here's the rub. If you, the peon consumer, | | | | issued unless you personally release the report. You |
| take control over your own credit record in terms of | | | | do this in a formal notification to the credit bureau, plus |
| when it's made available to new requests, then you | | | | a $12 fee for each enquiry. What this means if you're |
| effectively control the timing of revenue for both the | | | | changing jobs or careers is that no background check |
| credit bureaus as well as the merchants keen to sell | | | | will "go through" unless you formally notify the credit |
| yet another credit card inducement to selling gear. It's | | | | bureau.Connecticut credit freeze laws signal a new |
| certainly in your "best interest", but clearly not in the | | | | trend in awareness to fight back against identity theft |
| commercial interests of the credit bureaus and | | | | and credit card fraud. For more info and family |
| merchants.How Does Connecticut Credit Freeze Stop | | | | protection strategies please go to:-Avoiding Identity |
| Identity Theft Fraudsters? Since identity theft can be | | | | Theft: Against Online ID Theft:: Robin Derry is publisher |
| triggered by intercepting your mail, stealing your auto, | | | | for a specialty information site that gives solutions to |
| renting State birth records (like in California), corrupting | | | | health, household, sport, travel and legal needs. |
| an online web seller's data base, or stealing a pocket | | | | |