| If you think a burglar is outside your house, then | | | | days later what you find out is that, you receive |
| would it be reasonable to already have a lock on | | | | the bill and you're responsible for payment on the |
| your door? Seems common sense and obvious, | | | | gear which you never bought!"What the |
| but apparently not so clear to Texas legislators. In | | | | heck...what's this stuff? What charge card is this? |
| a legislative move equivalent to "you can't buy a | | | | *@:#" you'll be spitting and spewing. And guess |
| lock until you can prove your house has been | | | | what? With the help of your Texas legislature, |
| broken in to", Texas bill writers decided in a | | | | you're out of luck unless and until you've been |
| moment of rare law-making idiocy to limit Texas | | | | ripped off!Influence Peddling or Clear Sighted |
| consumers' credit freeze privileges unless and until | | | | Legislation? Only Texas residents can truly judge |
| they can prove that they're a victim of identity | | | | the bottom line of whether a hamstrung credit |
| theft or credit card fraud!How Texas Credit | | | | freeze law actually helps anybody, especially when |
| Freeze Laws Crimp Residents Yet Aid Bad Guys. | | | | crime data already shows that 80% to 90% of |
| Everyone in the Lone Star State has read a | | | | identity theft, online theft, credit card fraud and |
| thousand times the politicians' campaign pledges | | | | so on goes undetected until the damage occurs. |
| "we work for you!". However, in the expanding | | | | Common sense indicates that "the horse has |
| universe of online fraud, identity theft, credit card | | | | already left the paddock" and the game is |
| fraud and other rip-off areas, the matter of which | | | | over.Which commercial interests are most likely |
| "you" they're working for is now less clear. Is it | | | | to support the Texas credit freeze law, in its |
| the Good Guys, ordinary Texas citizens, or is it | | | | clearly limited and punitive conditional support of |
| the Bad Guys?Limiting The Good Guys' Rights. | | | | Texas citizens? Amazingly, if you're a grade |
| Law abiding Texas citizens, the real Good Guys in | | | | school child perhaps, the primary opponents of |
| the identity theft picture, have gotten the bums | | | | unrestricted credit freeze rights are the major |
| rush deal from their pols. Here's the real deal on | | | | credit bureaus such as Experian, TransUnion or |
| how Texas credit freeze works. Lone Star | | | | Equifax. But why? The answer is simple...it's all |
| residents have to prove, via formal police | | | | about money.Texas Resident Credit Records Are |
| investigative reports, that they've been already | | | | Money-Makers For The Credit Bureaus. Each of |
| victimized by identity theft or credit card fraud | | | | over 150 million individual credit history files is a |
| before their credit history reports can be | | | | form of intellectual property. Yes, it's all about |
| locked-down and controlled against future piracy! | | | | you, your credit history, how and when you |
| In other words, by law Texas citizens cannot | | | | make your payments. Yet, individuals don't |
| proactively defend themselves against future | | | | actually own or control their own data. Instead, |
| crimes of identity theft or related financial or | | | | these records are regularly "sold" to enquiring |
| securities fraud unless they've first become a | | | | firms such as banks, credit card companies, |
| victim!Enhancing The Bad Guys' Criminal | | | | department stores, gasoline sellers and so on. If |
| Opportunities. Seems benign, the matter of timing | | | | an individual controls their own credit history |
| and control over how your credit history report | | | | record, then the bureau can no longer make |
| might be made available. Yet, in the opportunistic | | | | money from the data unless the consumer gives |
| mindset of a criminal, getting a 1-time access into | | | | a formal notice to release the |
| your credit history is like being offered 100 yards | | | | information.Meanwhile, banks and credit card |
| of open running room with no defenders in sight! | | | | hawkers want to sell more cards, more gear. And |
| In other words you have to be kidding!By initially | | | | so do the Bad Guys, who by thieving chance and |
| stealing some piece of your identity...a current | | | | necessity like to exploit any opportunity to live |
| credit card, an auto, birth record, address, bank or | | | | high-on-the-hog at someone else's expense.Texas |
| checking account number...bad guys can then | | | | credit freeze laws are half-measures regarding |
| "apply" for any number of thousands of credit | | | | consumer protection. Learn how to push back |
| cards being hustled by consumer credit companies | | | | against identity theft and credit card fraud. For |
| like department stores, hardware stores, banks, | | | | more info and family protection strategies please |
| clothiers, even sports good companies. These | | | | go to:-Avoiding Identity Theft: Against Online ID |
| criminals, posing as "you", run each newly issued | | | | Theft:: Robin Derry is publisher for a specialty |
| credit card to the hilt, purchasing thousands of | | | | information site that gives solutions to health, |
| dollars of gear. What they know, and then 30 | | | | household, sport, travel and legal needs. |