Want the CIA director's address? Get it for $26 online.The Internet has become a worldwide playground for identity thieves. Some online sites will give out your bank account balance for about $300. At least a dozen sites sell Social Security numbers and other private data for a small fee. The really bad news is that not even top U.S. officials' private information is safe. The California-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights says that for $26 each, it was able to purchase the Social Security numbers and home addresses for Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet; Attorney General John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9 1942) is an American politician who was the 79th United States Attorney General. He served during the first term of President George W. Bush from 2001 until 2005. Ashcroft was previously the Governor of Missouri (1985 – 1993) and a U.S. ; Karl Rove The group said its ability to easily purchase this sensitive private data underscores the need for stronger protection of consumer data. It is calling for a strong national law on credit reporting that would still allow U.S. states to pass their own, perhaps tougher, privacy protections, such as the one recently passed in California. However, the House of Representatives passed its version of the Fair Credit Reporting Act The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is legislation embodied in title VI of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C.A. § 1681 et seq. [1968]), which was enacted by Congress in 1970 to ensure that reporting activities relating to various consumer transactions are conducted in a (FCRA FCRA Fair Credit Reporting Act (US) FCRA Foreign Contribution Regulation Act FCRA Federal Credit Reform Act FCRA Florida Civil Rights Act FCRA Florida Court Reporters Association FCRA Fabric Care Research Association ) reanthorization in September, and the financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. industry is lobbying for quick passage of the bill because it would block states from imposing tougher consumer financial data privacy standards. The measure, H.R. 2622, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act or FACTA, Pub.L. 108-159) which was passed by the United States Congress on December 4 2003 as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumers can request and obtain a free credit report , sponsored by Pep. Spencer Bachus Spencer Thomas Bachus III (b. December 28 1947), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing Alabama's At-large congressional district. (R-Ala), Rep. Darlene Hooley Darlene Kay Olson Hooley (born April 4 1939) is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon who represents the state's 5th congressional district. A native of North Dakota, she spent eight years teaching high school before entering politics when she was (D-Ore.), and others, features several provisions designed to protect consumers from financial identity theft and improve the accuracy of consumer records. For example, the measure seeks to * place alerts in consumer credit reports to prevent identity thieves from opening accounts in their names * block information from being given to a credit bureau and from being reported by a credit bureau if such information results from identity theft * give consumers the right to a free copy of their credit report * restrict access to consumers' private health information A portion of the bill also would extend a current pre-emption PRE-EMPTION, intern. law. The right of preemption is the right of a nation to detain the merchandise of strangers passing through her territories or seas, in order to afford to her subjects the preference of purchase. 1 Chit. Com. Law, 103; 1 Bl. Com. 287. 2. of tougher state privacy laws such as California's. The California measure represents some of the strongest financial protections in the United States by requiring financial institutions and insurance companies to get consumers' permission before sharing consumers' personal data with affiliates. Experts say stopping the trafficking of information among corporate affiliates is key to protecting information because some companies have hundreds of businesses under their corporate umbrella. California's law, which takes effect in July 2004, will require customer permission before financial institutions share with an unaffiliated company information such as bank balances or spending habits. The bill also includes a provision under which consumers could bar a company from sharing information with an affiliate that is in a different line of business. |
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