The Breech notification law requires companies to notify consumers if their personal information has been compromised and security freeze legislation allows consumers to stop ID theft before it starts by controlling who can access to their credit report.

How the security freeze works
Starting January 1, 2008 Maryland consumers will be able to freeze their credit report via the credit bureau’s website, phone, e-mail, or certified mail. Consumers may have to pay as much as $5 for the freeze. (There is no cost for victims of ID theft). Once a freeze is in place, thieves are prevented from opening new lines of credit because creditors won't extend credit without reviewing a credit report. There may be a fee up to $5 to lift the freeze as well.

Free Credit Reports Now Available
In Maryland, you can now order a free annual credit reports provided by federal law online at Annualcreditreport.com, or by calling 877-322-8228. Regularly checking your credit reports can help insure that you do not become a victim of identity theft.

Identity Theft Handbook Available
Maryland PIRG Foundations's "Identity Theft Handbook: Steps to Protect Yourself" is now available. Download your copy now. (PDF, 1 MB)

Brief Summary
Your personal financial information is bought, sold and traded by corporations without your permission or knowledge. On a daily basis, banks, credit card companies and other institutions trade sensitive data such as credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, checking account numbers, average account balances, credit limits, and credit insurance status. They collect information they don't really need and are sloppy in the way they manage it. This makes it easy for thieves to get their hands on people's records.

As a result, identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America, impacting someone every 78 seconds. Complaints to the Federal Trade Commission doubled last year. At least seven million Americans were victims of identity theft in the one-year period ending this past July.

This is often much more than a matter of asking a credit card company to remove an erroneous charge. It involves thieves taking out lines of credit in victims' names, criminals giving someone else's ID to law enforcement officers, and other types of fraud.
And then it's the responsibility of the victim to clean up the mess, not the sloppy company. The average victim spends 600 hours and $1,500 clearing his or her name. This is unfair, and Maryland PIRG is working to put consumers back in control of their personal financial information, to deter financial institutions from reckless business practices, and to give victims of identity theft recourse to clear their records.