Tell Congress: Enact Strong ID Theft Protection for Consumers!
Most of us are very careful about keep sensitive personal information, like our Social Security number, from falling into strangers hands. But despite our best efforts, The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 9.9 million Americans are victimized by identity theft every year.
Thats because identity thieves can now obtain Social Security numbers and other sensitive information about you through a variety of web sites that sell data collected from public records.
That's why Congress is considering several bills that would require businesses to inform consumers when their personal information has been breached. But some of the proposals in Congress are actually weaker than many current state laws that were passed to protect consumers.
We think that when your sensitive personal information is stolen, the business that failed to protect it should tell you. And with the raft of identity theft scandals recently, it's clear that Americans need stronger federal protections, not weaker standards that are business-friendly but harmful to consumers.
Tell Congress that federal standards must be strengthened to protect you against identity theft and financial fraud!
Dear [Decision Maker]:
Nearly every week there is news of another company, government agency, or university that has exposed Americans to identity theft because sensitive consumer records have been stolen, lost, or viewed by someone who shouldn't have seen them. I'm worried about identity theft and financial fraud and want to make sure that Congress acts to help consumers, not to roll back existing state laws that protect consumers.
It's time for Congress to give Americans meaningful identity theft protections. Unfortunately, H.R. 4217 would roll back existing state laws and replace them with weak federal standards. This bill has already passed out of subcommittee and is expected to be considered by the full House Energy and Commerce Committee soon. I am very concerned about this bill and hope you will do all you can to oppose it in its current form, to amend it to remove the loopholes, change it to require notice whenever the security of sensitive personal information is breached, and to strengthen it in other ways.
Some of the ways this legislation could be improved include:
1) Removing the loophole that lets the company who failed to protect my information decide whether or not to tell me about it.
2) Insisting on strong security standards for everyone who holds consumers' personal information with real penalties if they fail to keep my personal information secure.
3) Giving me a right to see and correct the files that information brokers have about me -- and stopping them from selling or sharing this information if I want.
Please help make sure that H.R. 4127 helps protect me in the fight against identity theft and fraud.
Sincerely,
[your name]