I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5482 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to provide individuals the ability 
to control access to their credit reports, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 25, 2006 
Mrs. MALONEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to provide individ-
uals the ability to control access to their credit reports, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Identity Theft Protec-
tion Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 
2. 
PROTECTION 
OF 
DATA 
THROUGH 
SECURITY 
FREEZE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 
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section 605B (relating to block resulting from identity 
theft) the following new section: 
‘‘§ 605C. Protection of data through security freeze 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(1) EMPLACEMENT.—A consumer may place a 
security freeze on the consumer report of the con-
sumer by making a request to a consumer reporting 
agency in writing or by telephone. 
‘‘(2) CONSUMER DISCLOSURE.—If a consumer 
requests a security freeze, the consumer reporting 
agency shall disclose to the consumer the process of 
placing and removing the security freeze and explain 
to the consumer the potential consequences of the 
security freeze. 
‘‘(b) EFFECT OF SECURITY FREEZE.— 
‘‘(1) RELEASE OF INFORMATION BLOCKED.—If 
a security freeze is in place on a consumer report of 
a consumer, a consumer reporting agency may not 
release the consumer report or information from the 
consumer report to a third party without prior ex-
press authorization from the consumer. 
‘‘(2) INFORMATION PROVIDED TO THIRD PAR-
TIES.—Paragraph (2) shall not be construed as pre-
venting a consumer reporting agency from advising 
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a third party that a security freeze is in effect with 
respect to a consumer report of a consumer. 
‘‘(3) TREATMENT
AS
INCOMPLETE
APPLICA-
TION.—If a third party, in connection with an appli-
cation for credit, requests access to a consumer re-
port on which a security freeze is in place, the third 
party may treat the application as incomplete. 
‘‘(c) REMOVAL; TEMPORARY SUSPENSION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (4), a security freeze shall remain in place 
until the consumer requests that the security freeze 
be removed. A consumer may remove a security 
freeze on the consumer report of the consumer by 
making a request to a consumer reporting agency in 
writing or by telephone. 
‘‘(2) 
CONDITIONS.—A 
consumer 
reporting 
agency may remove a security freeze placed on the 
consumer report of a consumer only— 
‘‘(A) upon the consumer’s request, pursu-
ant to paragraph (1); or 
‘‘(B) if the agency determines that the 
consumer report of a consumer was frozen due 
to a material misrepresentation of fact by the 
consumer. 
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‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION TO CONSUMER.—If a con-
sumer reporting agency intends to remove a freeze 
upon the consumer report of a consumer pursuant 
to paragraph (2)(B), the consumer reporting agency 
shall notify the consumer in writing prior to remov-
ing the freeze on the consumer report. 
‘‘(4) TEMPORARY
SUSPENSION.—A consumer 
may have a security freeze on the consumer report 
of the consumer temporarily suspended by making a 
request to a consumer reporting agency in writing or 
by telephone and specifying beginning and ending 
dates for the period during which the security freeze 
is not to apply to the consumer report of the con-
sumer. 
‘‘(d) RESPONSE TIMES; NOTIFICATION OF OTHER 
ENTITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A consumer reporting 
agency shall— 
‘‘(A) place a security freeze on the con-
sumer report of a consumer under subsection 
(a) not later than 5 business days after receiv-
ing a request from the consumer under sub-
section (a)(1); and 
‘‘(B) remove, or temporarily suspend, a se-
curity freeze within 3 business days after re-
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ceiving a request for removal or temporary sus-
pension from the consumer under subsection 
(c). 
‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF OTHER COVERED ENTI-
TIES.—If the consumer requests in writing or by 
telephone that other covered entities be notified of 
the request, the consumer reporting agency shall no-
tify all other consumer reporting agencies described 
in section 603(p)(1) of the request within 3 days 
after placing, removing, or temporarily suspending a 
security freeze on the consumer report of the con-
sumer under subsection (a), (c)(2)(A), or (c)(4), re-
spectively. 
‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION
BY
OTHER
COVERED 
ENTITIES.—A consumer reporting agency that is no-
tified of a request under paragraph (2) to place, re-
move, or temporarily suspend a security freeze on a 
consumer report of a consumer shall place, remove, 
or temporarily suspend the security freeze on that 
consumer report within 3 business days after receiv-
ing the notification. 
‘‘(e) CONFIRMATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever a consumer re-
porting agency places, removes, or temporarily sus-
pends a security freeze on the consumer report of a 
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consumer at the request of that consumer under 
subsection (a) or (c), respectively, the consumer re-
porting agency shall send a written confirmation of 
such action to the consumer within 10 business days 
after placing, removing, or temporarily suspending 
the security freeze on the consumer report. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—This subsection shall not 
apply to the placement, removal, or temporary sus-
pension of a security freeze by a consumer reporting 
agency because of a notification received under sub-
section (d)(2). 
‘‘(f) ID REQUIRED.—A consumer reporting agency 
may not place, remove, or temporarily suspend a security 
freeze on the consumer report of a consumer at the con-
sumer’s request unless the consumer provides proper iden-
tification (within the meaning of section 610(a)(1)) and 
the regulations prescribed under such subsection. 
‘‘(g) EXCEPTIONS.—This section shall not apply to 
the use of a consumer credit report by any of the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) A person or entity, or a subsidiary, affil-
iate, or agent of that person or entity, or an as-
signee of a financial obligation owing by the con-
sumer to that person or entity, or a prospective as-
signee of a financial obligation owing by the con-
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sumer to that person or entity in conjunction with 
the proposed purchase of the financial obligation, 
with which the consumer has or had prior to assign-
ment an account or contract, including a demand de-
posit account, or to whom the consumer issued a ne-
gotiable instrument, for the purposes of reviewing 
the account or collecting the financial obligation 
owing for the account, contract, or negotiable instru-
ment. 
‘‘(2) Any Federal, State or local agency, law en-
forcement agency, trial court, or private collection 
agency acting pursuant to a court order, warrant, or 
subpoena. 
‘‘(3) A child support agency or its agents or as-
signs acting pursuant to subtitle D of title IV of the 
Social Security Act or similar State law. 
‘‘(4) The Department of Health and Human 
Services, a similar State agency, or the agents or as-
signs of the Federal or State agency acting to inves-
tigate medicare or medicaid fraud. 
‘‘(5) The Internal Revenue Service or a State 
or municipal taxing authority, or a State department 
of motor vehicles, or any of the agents or assigns of 
these Federal, State, or municipal agencies acting to 
investigate or collect delinquent taxes or unpaid 
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court orders or to fulfill any of their other statutory 
responsibilities. 
‘‘(6) The use of consumer credit information for 
the purposes of prescreening as provided under this 
title. 
‘‘(7) Any person or entity administering a cred-
it file monitoring subscription to which the consumer 
has subscribed. 
‘‘(8) Any person or entity for the purpose of 
providing a consumer with a copy of his or her cred-
it report or credit score upon the consumer’s re-
quest. 
‘‘(h) FEES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(A) CERTAIN
REASONABLE
FEES
AL-
LOWED.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
a consumer reporting agency may charge a rea-
sonable fee, as determined by the Commission, 
for placing or temporarily suspending a security 
freeze on the consumer report of a consumer. 
‘‘(B) FACTORS
TO
BE
CONSIDERED.—In 
considering what is reasonable for the purpose 
of subparagraph (A), the Commission shall con-
sider the prevailing fees permitted by State law 
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immediately before the date of the enactment of 
the Identity Theft Protection Act of 2006. 
‘‘(C) FEE FOR REMOVAL OF FREEZE PRO-
HIBITED.—No fee may be charged for removal 
of a security freeze. 
‘‘(2) ID THEFT VICTIMS.—A consumer report-
ing agency may not charge a fee for placing, remov-
ing, or temporarily suspending a security freeze on 
the consumer report of a consumer if— 
‘‘(A) the consumer— 
‘‘(i) is a victim of identity theft; and 
‘‘(ii) has filed a police report, inves-
tigative report, or complaint made to a po-
lice department with respect to the theft; 
or 
‘‘(B) the consumer is the recipient of a no-
tice that a breach of data security has occurred 
with respect to information of the consumer 
that is required by law to be maintained se-
curely and in confidence. 
‘‘(i) LIMITATION
ON INFORMATION CHANGES
IN 
FROZEN REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a security freeze is in 
place on the consumer report of a consumer, a con-
sumer reporting agency may not change any of the 
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following official information in that consumer re-
port without sending a written confirmation of the 
change to the consumer within 30 days after the 
change is made: 
‘‘(A) Name. 
‘‘(B) Date of birth. 
‘‘(C) Social Security number. 
‘‘(D) Address. 
‘‘(2) CONFIRMATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall 
not be construed as requiring written confirma-
tion for technical modifications of a consumer’s 
official information, including name and street 
abbreviations, complete spellings, or transposi-
tion of numbers or letters. 
‘‘(B) OLD AND NEW ADDRESSES.—In the 
case of an address change, the written con-
firmation shall be sent to both the new address 
and to the former address. 
‘‘(j) CERTAIN ENTITY EXEMPTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) AGGREGATORS AND OTHER AGENCIES.— 
The provisions of subsections (a) through (h) shall 
not apply to a consumer reporting agency that acts 
only as a reseller of credit information by assembling 
and merging information contained in the data base 
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of another consumer reporting agency or multiple 
consumer reporting agencies, and does not maintain 
a permanent data base of consumer information 
from which new consumer reports are produced. 
‘‘(2) OTHER
EXEMPTED
ENTITIES.—The fol-
lowing entities shall not be required to place a secu-
rity freeze in a consumer report under this section: 
‘‘(A) A check services or fraud prevention 
services company, which issues reports on inci-
dents of fraud or authorizations for the purpose 
of approving or processing negotiable instru-
ments, electronic funds transfers, or similar 
methods of payments. 
‘‘(B) A deposit account information service 
company, which issues reports regarding ac-
count closures due to fraud, substantial over-
drafts, automated teller machine abuse, or simi-
lar negative information regarding a consumer, 
to inquiring depository institutions or other fi-
nancial institutions for use only in reviewing a 
consumer request for a deposit account at the 
inquiring depository institution or other finan-
cial institution.’’. 
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(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect at the end of the 6-month 
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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