change the way that they sell their products to 
consumers. The CRAs must also obtain con-
sumers’ express consent before enrolling them 
into subscription services as well as make it 
easer for consumers to cancel these programs. 
(C) The Consumer Bureau fined the other 
nationwide CRA—Experian—in March 2017 
for deceiving consumers about the use of credit 
scores that it marketed and sold to consumers 
as credit scores that were used by lenders and 
for illegally advertising its products on web 
pages 
that 
consumers 
accessed 
through 
AnnualCreditReport.com before they obtained 
their free annual disclosures. Experian was or-
dered to pay more than $3.7 million in restitu-
tion to harmed consumers and a civil monetary 
penalty of $2.5 million to the Consumer Bu-
reau. 
(D) The Consumer Bureau’s January and 
March 2017 consent orders with the three na-
tionwide CRAs show that these CRAs have en-
ticed consumers into purchasing products and 
services that they may not want or need, in 
some instances by advertising products or serv-
ices ‘‘free’’ that automatically converted into an 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:33 Jul 10, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00022
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3622.IH
H3622
pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
ongoing subscription service at the regular price 
unless cancelled by the consumer. Although 
these CRAs must now change their deceptive 
marketing practices, codifying these duties is an 
appropriate way to ensure that these companies 
never revert back to such misleading tactics. 
(E) Given the ubiquitous use of consumer 
reports in consumers’ lives and the fact that 
consumers’ participation in the credit reporting 
system is involuntary, CRAs should also 
prioritize providing consumers with the effective 
means to safeguard their personal and financial 
information and improve their credit standing, 
rather than seeking to exploit consumers’ con-
cerns and confusion about credit reporting and 
scoring, to boost their companies’ profits. 
(F) Vulnerable consumers, who have legiti-
mate concerns about the security of their per-
sonal and financial information, deserve clear, 
accurate, and transparent information about 
the credit reporting tools that may be available 
to them, such as fraud alerts and freezes. 
(7) PROTECTIONS FOR CONSUMERS’ CREDIT IN-
FORMATION.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:33 Jul 10, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3622.IH
H3622
pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
(A) Despite heightened awareness, inci-
dents of ID theft continue to rise. In February 
2015, the FTC reported that ID theft was the 
top consumer complaint that it received for the 
15th consecutive year. As these incidents in-
crease, consumers experience significant finan-
cial loss and emotional distress from the inabil-
ity to safeguard effectively and inexpensively 
their credit information from bad actors. 
(B) According to a Carnegie Mellon study, 
children are 50 times more likely than adults to 
have their identities stolen. Child identities are 
valuable to thieves because most children do not 
have existing files, and their parents may not 
notice fraudulent activity until their child ap-
plies for a student loan, a job, or a credit card. 
As a result, the fraudulent activity of the bad 
actors may go undetected for years. 
(C) Despite the increasing incidents of 
children’s ID theft, parents who want to 
proactively prevent their children from having 
their identity stolen, may not be able to do so. 
Only one of the three nationwide CRAs cur-
rently allows parents from any State to set up 
a freeze for a minor child. At the other two na-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:33 Jul 10, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00024
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3622.IH
H3622
pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
tionwide CRAs, parents can only obtain a freeze 
after a child has become an ID theft victim be-
cause, it is only at this point, that these CRAs 
have an existing credit file for the child. While 
many States have enacted laws to address this 
problem, there is no existing Federal law. 
(D) According to Javelin Strategy & 
Research’s 2015 Identity Fraud study, $16 bil-
lion was stolen by fraudsters from 12.7 million 
American consumers in 2014. Similarly, the 
United States Department of Justice found an 
estimated 7 percent of all residents age 16 or 
older (about 17.6 million persons) in this coun-
try were victims of one or more incidents of ID 
theft in 2014, and the number of elderly victims 
age 65 or older (about 86 percent) increased 
from 2.1 million in 2012 to 2.6 million in 2014. 
(E) Consumers frequently express concern 
about the security of their financial informa-
tion. According to a 2015 MasterCard survey, 
a majority of consumers (77 percent) have anx-
iety about the possibility that their financial in-
formation and Social Security numbers may be 
stolen or compromised, with about 55 percent 
of consumers indicating that they would rather 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:33 Jul 10, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00025
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3622.IH
H3622
pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
have naked pictures of themselves leaked online 
than have their financial information stolen. 
(F) That survey also revealed that con-
sumers’ fears about the online security of their 
financial information even outweighed con-
sumers’ worries about other physical security 
dangers such as having their houses robbed (59 
percent) or being pickpocketed (46 percent). 
(G) According to Consumer Reports, 
roughly 50 million American consumers spent 
about $3.5 billion in 2010 to purchase products 
aimed at protecting their identity, with the an-
nual cost of these services ranging from $120 
to $300. As risks to consumers’ personal and fi-
nancial information continue to grow, con-
sumers need additional protections to ensure 
that they have fair and reasonable access to the 
full suite of ID theft and fraud prevention 
measures that may be right for them. 
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
Except as otherwise specified, the amendments made 
by this Act shall take effect 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:33 Jul 10, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00026
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3622.IH
H3622
pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS