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Utah Passes Landmark Consumer Credit "Freeze"

Helps Guard Against Identity Theft

March 2, 2006
Utah has become the first state to pass a law allowing consumers to freeze their credit but still get access to it within 15 minutes. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said a two-year effort led to passage of the measure by the Utah legislature.

"Utah now leads the nation with this innovative approach to protect consumers. We've hammered out a solution that is friendly to consumers and hostile to identity thieves," Shurtleff said.

According to Shurtleff, the measure allows consumers to place a security freeze on their credit report.

That blocks anyone from accessing it without the consumers' permission. Without access to the credit history, an identity thief would not be able to open accounts, even if he had stolen some of the consumer's key security information, such as date of birth and Social Security number.

The consumer can unlock their credit within 15 minutes, using a secured password or pin number. Under the law, consumers will be charged a small fee to freeze their credit, although identity theft victims can get this service without charge.

"This new law will let consumers take control of their own identities and stop criminals from using their names to drain their banking accounts," said State Senator Carlene Walker, the bill's sponsor.

"Bankers, realtors, car dealers and other merchants came together to help us craft a business-friendly plan that gets the job done."

Shurtleff said he idea of using legislation to combat identity thieves came up at Utah's first Identity Theft Summit in October, 2003. Prosecutors, police officers, bankers, merchants and legislators gathered at the summit and started thinking about laws that could help consumers without hurting businesses.

The new law gives credit bureaus 2 years to develop the programs needed to provide this service.

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