California has a privacy law to help stop identity theft.
Identity theft is a big concern for many these days. Safeguarding your Social Security number is the most effective action a person can take. What about a State? California is taking some action to help the consumer.
California’s newly enacted privacy law offers a better option to limiting the use of Social Security numbers, the law allows a consumer to place a “security freeze” on his credit report. The freeze prohibits consumer-credit-reporting agencies from releasing the consumer’s credit report or any information from it without express authorization from the consumer.
Time will tell if that provision works better than the more common “alerts” that many people put on their credit reports. With an “alert” a consumer is supposed to be notified that someone is attempting to obtain credit in his or her name. But stories abound of breakdowns in the system.
If someone uses your Social Security number to obtain credit and doesn’t pay the bills, you’ll discover the fraud as soon as the bill collectors come calling. But sometimes an identity thief actually pays the bills and, in those instances, it could be a long time before you discover the fraud.
The best way to find out if someone is fraudulently using your Social Security number is to request copies of your credit reports at least once a year.
