Equifax CEO: ID Theft is an epidemic
But [Equifax CEO] Chapman acknowledges Equifax has “no silver bullet” when it comes to thwarting fraud. One popular belief is that checking a credit report once a year is a defense. That doesn’t protect consumers, Chapman said.
“It’s not going to help and the public is starting to learn that,” Chapman said. He decried the government’s plan to force Equifax and the other top three credit-reporting agencies, Experian and TransUnion, to provide annual credit reports free of charge.
“I’m all for good laws, laws that protect people. But this isn’t one of them,” said Chapman, who also opposes the law because it forces the companies to give away their product, which he called “un-American.”
What Chapman wants to see are stricter standards for data storing, including mandatory encryption. He also spoke in favor of a new method of identifying people other than by Social Security number.
You know, maybe you could stop blaming the victims of fraud by impersonation, stop enabling the crime by allowing all Americans to freeze their credit, and add a comprehensive program to stop libeling people who are victims of the crime?
(From Associated Press, Equifax CEO: Identity Theft Is an Epidemic.)
I especially like the idea of giving all consumers the ability to freeze their own credit. But I still prefer a simple corporate recognition that consumer data they handle is ultimately “the property” of the “source citizen.” 🙂
Slightly off topic, but I thought this item about Choice Point Data might interest you-
http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/36239-1.html