OSPIRG's Laura Etherton served on the task force led by Sen. Prozanski and the Department of Consumer and Business Services to help develop the Oregon Consumer Identity Theft Protection Act. In addition to giving Oregonians the righto to a security freeze, the new law also requires businesses and other data dealers to safeguard information, protect social security numbers and notify consumers if their personal information falls into the wrong hands.

Protecting Oregonians from Identity Theft
Oregon ranks 13 th in the nation for identity theft, the country's fastest growing crime. Victims of identity theft spend thousand of dollars and hours and hours to restore their good names. Major factors contributing to this epidemic are how easily thieves get access to personal data, and how easily they can use that information to open fraudulent credit accounts.

Keeping your information safe, and notifying you if it falls into the wrong hands:
Credit card companies, data-dealers, credit reporting agencies and other institutions are collecting, sharing and selling more data about all of us than ever before. If these entities fail to keep information secure, it makes it easy for thieves to steal identities.

The laptop data breach of 365,000 patients’ records at Providence Home Health Services is just one of many examples of the troubling trend putting consumers at risk.

Business and government entities should protect personal information, limit the use and display of social security numbers, and should notify Oregonians if the security of their personal information is compromised.

Notified right away, consumers can monitor their credit reports and be on the alert to prevent identity theft. The requirement to notify is also a powerful incentive for entities to improve the security of the information they keep.

At least 30 states now have security breach notification laws on the books.

Security Freeze to Block Thieves
Armed with the personal details of our lives, thieves can too easily take out new credit in victims’ names. Oregonians should have the right to control access to their credit reports through the use of a security freeze, stopping identity thieves in their tracks.

A Security Freeze is the right to control access your own credit report by protecting it with a passcode, like an ATM PIN. It doesn’t interfere with existing accounts; it only blocks unauthorized new accounts.

The best form of security freeze borrows from the convenience of on-line banking, and enables the consumer to easily place and lift the freeze using the passcode with these changes taking place almost immediately.

potential creditor won't issue credit without reviewing a consumer’s credit report, and if only the actual consumer can grant access to the credit report, thieves are blocked from opening a new account. That’s what makes a security freeze so effective, and why residents in twenty-six states now have the right to place a freeze on their credit reports.

Resources
Information about Security Freezes, and How to Sign Up. OSPIRG
10 Tips to Reduce Your Risk of Identity Theft, OSPIRG
Fair Credit Reporting Act: What Consumers Need to Know, OSPIRG