DAN ESHELMAN , Staff Writer 05/07/2003
A report circulating on the Internet stating that a consumer’s personal credit information will soon be available to anyone is an example of an “urban legend,” according to state officials.
“The facts are not accurate, but once a story like this starts, it tends to spread quickly,” said Bob Brammer, spokesman for the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.
With the Internet, he noted, the story can reach millions of people in a relatively short time and can also be embellished with each retelling.
The primary way the report is being passed along is through e-mails, often sent from one person to dozens of other people via electronic mailboxes. Those recipients then forward the report to yet more e-mail accounts.
In various forms, the message warns individuals that starting July 1, major credit bureaus in the country – such as Equifax, Experian and Trans Union – will be allowed to release a consumer’s credit information to anyone who requests it.
To prevent this from happening, the message states, an individual must call a specific telephone number and complete a procedure called “opting out.”
“The part of the message about the release of information on July 1 isn’t true,” Brammer said. “But it certainly can alarm someone who reads the report, especially if it has been forwarded from a colleague or friend.”
Stephen Switzer, investigator for the consumer protection division of the attorney general’s office, said the message contains “misleading and confusing information.”
“The e-mail describes only one of three different opt-out rights, and appears to confuse the right it describes with another right contained in the Financial Services Modernization Act,” Switzer said.
The number that the message refers to, 1 (888) 567-8688, is legitimate, he said, but it has only a limited purpose.
It is “simply to enable consumers to opt out of receiving pre-approved offers of credit,” Switzer said. “Nothing more.”
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, credit bureaus can release a consumer’s credit information for authorized business purposes, such as situations in which an individual applies for a loan.
Credit bureaus can also sell lists that are used by companies to make unsolicited offers of credit and insurance.
By calling 1 (888) 567-8688, consumers can have their names removed from these lists.
This toll-free number has been available to people for years, Switzer said.
A 1996 amendment to the federal credit reporting law required the credit bureaus to maintain the number and the opt-out service.
“If you do not want your name included on these lists, you can call the phone number in the e-mailand provide information necessary to confirm your identity, which may include your Social Security number,” Switzer said.
But he said the e-mail “is incorrect in stating that credit bureaus will be able to release information to anyone who requests it. That is not, and never has been, the law.”
The toll-free number in the e-mail has nothing to do with the federal financial services act that took effect July 1, 2001, Switzer said.
That law required banks, insurers and other financial services companies to notify customers annually in writing about what personal information the firms collect and what they do with it.
“If you haven’t yet acted on your right to opt out of information sharing by your bank, insurer or other financial services company, you still can,” Switzer said.
People may contact a firm or institution directly to learn how to exercise this right, he said.
Since, under provisions of the law, a date of July 1 was originally announced as the deadline for financial firms to tell people of the procedure for opting out of the information sharing, “that initial notice requirement may be where the date in the e-mail comes from,” Switzer said.
But the law “allows consumers to opt out at any time,” he added.
Calling the number in the e-mail and following the directions for opting out will prevent credit bureaus from providing a consumer’s information to banks and others for purpos
es of making unsolicited credit offers, but the action will not affect disclosure of the information by financial institutions.
“Privacy advocates suggest writing companies you do business with to express your desire for more restrictive privacy policies and to request that they further limit the sharing of information,” Switzer said.
Brammer said that even though the e-mail contained some inaccurate data, if it prompted people to use the phone number for opting out of information sharing, then the message could actually have a positive result.
“It’s good to be reminded that there are procedures for limiting how information about you is distributed,” he said.
More details about credit, privacy and related consumer issues are available at the Web site of the attorney general’s office, www.iowaattorneygeneral.org.
Once the site is accessed, people can find links to specialized categories, such as consumer protection. Consumer advisories can also be downloaded.
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cDaily Nonpareil 2003