AT&T is warning consumers about a data breach involving an insider who illegally accessed the personal information of an unspecified number of users. The compromised data includes Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers. - See more at: http://threatpost.com/att-hit-by-insider-breach/108705#sthash.Xk5pxLk3.dpuf
As we all are aware the number of identity theft victims continues to rise significantly and this one is no exception. Even if you have the appropriate countermeasures in place you can still be victimized. Those safeguards may include signing up with an identity theft protection company, placing a fraud alert on your account or even placing a credit freeze. So I ask myself, why congress does not pass a law requiring all credit issuers to access a centralized database of people already known to be compromised? The law should require these credit entities and even the IRS to query the database, access verified contact numbers and call these victims before even issuing any credit inquiries. For those credit issuers who do not perform this query they should receive a substantial fine and/or pay damages to those who have been violated. Remember inquiries in and of itself, despite having a fraud alert, can impact ones credit.
Its also true that many of these protective services are not capable of safeguarding against false IRS refunds, The IRS in January of this year admits themselves that they have seen a significant increase in refund fraud that involves identity thieves who file false claims for refunds by stealing and using someone's Social Security number. They go on to say "In Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, the IRS initiated approximately 1,492 identity theft related criminal investigations, an increase of 66 percent over investigations initiated in FY 2012. Direct investigative time applied to identity theft related investigations has increased 216 percent over the last two years. (Source link: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Criminal-Investigation-Combats-Identity-Theft-Refund-Fraud).
The increase of 216 percent in the aforementioned sentence leads me to another point. That is due to this illegal activity productivity continues to fall dramatically while the costs to consumers, credit issuing entities and insurance companies alike are rising at a staggering rate. For example the time (even if you have implemented some sort of protective service) it takes for those who have been exploited to rectify their good names has become exorbitant.
So again. Congress make a move already. Enough is enough!
As we all are aware the number of identity theft victims continues to rise significantly and this one is no exception. Even if you have the appropriate countermeasures in place you can still be victimized. Those safeguards may include signing up with an identity theft protection company, placing a fraud alert on your account or even placing a credit freeze. So I ask myself, why congress does not pass a law requiring all credit issuers to access a centralized database of people already known to be compromised? The law should require these credit entities and even the IRS to query the database, access verified contact numbers and call these victims before even issuing any credit inquiries. For those credit issuers who do not perform this query they should receive a substantial fine and/or pay damages to those who have been violated. Remember inquiries in and of itself, despite having a fraud alert, can impact ones credit.
Its also true that many of these protective services are not capable of safeguarding against false IRS refunds, The IRS in January of this year admits themselves that they have seen a significant increase in refund fraud that involves identity thieves who file false claims for refunds by stealing and using someone's Social Security number. They go on to say "In Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, the IRS initiated approximately 1,492 identity theft related criminal investigations, an increase of 66 percent over investigations initiated in FY 2012. Direct investigative time applied to identity theft related investigations has increased 216 percent over the last two years. (Source link: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Criminal-Investigation-Combats-Identity-Theft-Refund-Fraud).
The increase of 216 percent in the aforementioned sentence leads me to another point. That is due to this illegal activity productivity continues to fall dramatically while the costs to consumers, credit issuing entities and insurance companies alike are rising at a staggering rate. For example the time (even if you have implemented some sort of protective service) it takes for those who have been exploited to rectify their good names has become exorbitant.
So again. Congress make a move already. Enough is enough!