Privacy Digest

A weapon against identity theft - USATODAY.com: "The year started with a disclosure by TJX, parent company of retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, of the theft of credit card data on 45.7 million customers. Since then, everybody from the Veterans Affairs Department to the University of California, Davis, have reported breaches of personal data.

But lawmakers across the country -- pushed by consumer advocacy groups -- are mounting a counterattack. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that help consumers help themselves. They can freeze their credit, a surefire way to prevent thieves from opening new accounts or obtaining a mortgage in a consumer's name. Under a freeze, a consumer cuts off all access to his credit report and score, even his own. All lenders require that information, so no one can borrow money in the consumer's name until he or she lifts the freeze.

It's simple, and it works. So, of course, it's under threat from the Consumer Data Industry Association, which represents the Big Three credit bureaus. They make millions gathering and selling consumer data. Freezes cut into that business."

(Read Original Article - Via USATODAY.com .)