Currently, no federal law requires companies to notify anyone, including consumers, when a company loses sensitive personal data that could lead to harm for consumers. While dozens of states, including Kansas [as of January 1, 2007] require breached entities to notify consumers in the event of a data breach, many do not.

On October 6, 2005, Rep. Steve LaTourette [R-OH] introduced H.R. 3997, the Financial Data Protection Act of 2005, of which I was an original cosponsor. This legislation would have required companies that compile and maintain sensitive personal data to:

• safeguard sensitive information that could lead to account fraud or identity theft;
• notify law enforcement, federal regulators, and consumers when data has been accessed by an unauthorized source in a way that could lead to harm or inconvenience; and
• offer free monitoring of consumers’ credit reports if a consumer’s sensitive personal data has been compromised in a way that could lead to identity theft.

Unfortunately, this legislation was not considered by the House before the end of the 109th Congress and has not yet been reintroduced in the 110th.

You may be interested to know, however, that as of June 2007, 38 states, including Kansas, have enacted laws allowing consumers to freeze their credit files upon request, thus making their credit records unavailable to potential lenders. A security freeze gives consumers the choice to "freeze" or lock access to their credit file against anyone who may be trying to open up a new account or to get new credit in their name.

The credit freeze provision in Kansas’ identity theft law allows victims of identity theft to freeze their credit files, free of charge, upon request. In addition, all three credit bureaus - TransUnion, Experian and Equifax - recently announced that by the end of 2007, they will let consumers freeze their credit reports. You will, of course, have to unfreeze your account using a PIN number whenever you want to apply for credit.

In 2003, Congress addressed growing concerns about identity theft by approving H.R. 2622, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act. In addition to combating the growing threat of identity theft and continuing our national credit reporting system, the bill gives consumers access to one free credit report a year and allows them the opportunity to limit unsolicited offers for credit.

In addition, on June 19, 2007, the House Financial Services Committee, of which I am a member, held a follow-up hearing on credit report accuracy and the reinvestigation process to ensure that the FACT Act was being implemented properly.

If you would like more information or a copy of your credit report, please contact one of the follow organizations:

Equifax -

• Consumer Help: 800-685-1111


• To Report Fraud: 800-525-6285


• www.equifax.com

Experian -

• Consumer Help: 888-397-3742


• To Report Fraud: 888-397-3742


• www.experian.com

Trans Union -

• Consumer Help: 800-916-8800


• To Report Fraud: 800-680-7289


• www.tuc.com