Dear Governor Rendell,
Yesterday,
Senate Bill 601 was presented to you for signature. SB 601 restricts
the public display and/or use of Social Security numbers in a variety
of contexts. The Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group (PennPIRG)
urges you to sign this bill.
Identity
theft is a serious problem, costing consumers significant amounts of
time and money. One way to help prevent identity theft is to ensure
that SSN’s are kept secure and private. Unfortunately, SB 601 exempts
financial institutions and health issuers from compliance,
significantly weakening the bill’s protections. Nonetheless, SB 601 is
an important step in protecting Pennsylvania citizens from identity
theft.
The
Senate is also considering Senate Bill 180. SB 180 gives consumers the
ability to proactively freeze access to their credit reports. This is
the single most effective tool consumers can use to prevent identity
theft. Security freezes allow consumers to prevent anyone from looking
at his or her own credit reporting file for the purposes of granting
credit unless they authorize a particular business to do so. When an
imposter seeks credit in a consumer’s name, the creditor checks the
credit reporting file. If the file is frozen, the creditor will deny
the thief’s credit application. Consumers legitimately applying for
credit can lift the freeze so particular creditors can see their files.
When the consumer is not seeking credit, the security freeze
effectively prevents anyone else from getting credit in the consumer’s
name.
PennPIRG
asks that you sign SB 601 and put your support behind SB 180. Both
present common sense ways to battle identity theft. Thank you for your
consideration.
Sincerely,
Jim Swoyer
Public Interest Advocate
PennPIRG
1015-A N. Front Street
Harrisburg, PA 17102
(717) 230-9710
