Beiser sponsors legislation to waive fees for individuals freezing credit

ALTON – State Rep. Dan Beiser, D-Alton, is sponsoring legislation that would get rid of fees charged to consumers to freeze their credit.

The bill comes after millions of Americans learned of a major data breach at credit reporting agency Equifax.

“When someone has their identity stolen, it takes countless hours and hundreds of dollars to re-secure their personal information,” Beiser said. “Many people use Equifax or similar companies to check their credit and make sure sensitive information doesn’t fall into wrong hands. In spite of doing everything to protect their identity, millions of Americans have to take steps to protect their Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and bank accounts. They should not be charged by the same companies that promised to help protect this information to freeze their credit.”

Equifax reported that hackers had obtained the personal information of 143 million Americans, including an estimated 5.4 million people in Illinois. As a result, people across the state are working to secure their personal information, bank accounts and credit information. To help make this process a little less costly, Beiser is backing House Bill 4095, which would prevent credit agencies from charging a fee for freezing their credit.

“Over 40 percent of Illinois residents had their personal information put at risk as a result of the Equifax data beach,” Beiser said. “This legislation will help provide some financial relief to those individuals and help them as they move forward.”

For more information, contact Beiser’s constituent service office at (618) 465-5900.

— The Illinois Business Journal