What are the federal laws regarding identity theft? With identity theft on the rise in the U.S., consumers are outraged, stressed over finances, and losing confidence in businesses who have not helped against identity theft. The federal government and state governments have realized over the years that identity theft is a growing concern and laws have been put in place to hold businesses to a higher standard of data protection.
- The Fair Credit Reporting Act establishes procedures for correcting any mistakes on credit records and requires that your record only be provided for legitimate business needs.
- Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act is an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act and provides new measures to protect consumers from identity theft. Included in the amendment is:
–Uniform national consumer protection standard
–Identity theft prevention
–Improving resolution of consumer disputes
–Improving accuracy of consumer records
–Improvements in use of and consumer access to credit information
–Protecting employee misconduct investigations - The Fair Credit Billing Act establishes procedures for resolving billing errors on credit card bills and statements with regard to credit card accounts. It also limits the liability for unauthorized or fraudulent credit card charges.
- The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits debt collectors from using unfair or deceptive practices to collect overdue bills that your creditor has forwarded for collection.
- Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act makes it a federal crime when someone knowingly transfers or uses, without authority, a person’s identification (name, SSN, credit card, cell phone, electronic serial number, and more) that may be used to commit a crime that is a violation of federal law, or constitutes a felony under any state or local law.
- Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act establishes penalties for aggravated identity theft.
Ultimately, the federal government and state governments are trying to hold businesses to a higher standard of data protection, to regain consumers’ confidence in businesses.