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Laws and Notices |
Following
a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has
issued final summaries of identity theft and general consumer
rights and revised furnisher and user notices under the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Fair and Accurate Credit
Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA). Consumer reporting companies
are required to notify consumers of their rights under FACTA
and steps they can take to protect themselves against identity
theft and difficulties resulting from identity theft.
The identity theft rights summary includes the major new
identity theft rights granted to consumers by FACTA, including
the right to place fraud alerts on their credit reports, to
block businesses and credit bureaus from reporting information
in their credit files that is a result of identity theft, and
to obtain from businesses information about accounts or
transactions in their name that result from identity theft.
The identity theft rights summary will be provided by consumer
reporting companies to consumers who contact the agencies
because they believe they are victims of fraud or identity
theft.
The general consumer rights summary includes, among other
things, consumers' right to see their credit files and know
when they have been used against them, to correct
inaccuracies, and to opt-out of unsolicited offers. The
summary also notes that, in addition to identity theft
victims, active duty military personnel have additional rights
under the FCRA and FACTA. This general summary of rights
updates the current summary, which credit reporting companies
provide to consumers with their credit reports. The furnisher
and user notices explain to businesses their duties under the
FCRA.
The FTC received 50 comments from individuals, businesses, and
associations. In response to these comments, the Commission
has made some changes to the proposed summaries and notices it
issued in July 2004, including: (1) the addition of a
Spanish-language statement at the top of the summary of rights
indicating where Spanish-speaking consumers may go to obtain
more information in Spanish; (2) clarification that a consumer
must contact the nationwide consumer reporting companies to
request that a fraud alert be placed on his or her credit
file, and that the initial alert remains in a consumer's file
for at least 90 days; and (3) clarification that a consumer
may request that a consumer reporting company block any
information, not just account information, in the consumer's
file if the information is the result of identity theft.
The FTC vote to approve the final rule and the publication of
the Federal Register notice was 5-0.
Summaries of Rights and Notices of Duties Under the FCRA &
FACT Act: Publication of Final Guidance on Model Disclosures
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2004/11/041119facta.pdf
Appendix E: Summary of Consumer Identity Theft Rights:
Remedying the Effects of Identity Theft
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2004/11/041119factaappe.pdf
Appendix F: Summary of Consumer Rights Under the FCRA
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2004/11/041119factaappf.pdf
Appendix G: Notice to Furnishers of Information: Obligations
of Furnishers Under the FCRA
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2004/11/041119factaappg.pdf
Appendix H: Notice to Users of Consumer Reports: Obligations
of Users Under the FCRA
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2004/11/041119factaapph.pdf
FCRA
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf
GLBA
http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/glbact/glboutline.pdf
DPPA
http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/forms/mv15dppa.pdf
ADA
http://www.sba.gov/ada/smbusgd.pdf
Information
subject to change without notice.
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