Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories

Ceretto sponsors, passes bill to protect children from identity theft

by jmaloni

Submitted

Tue, Jun 17th 2014 09:15 pm

Assemblyman John Ceretto, R-C-I-Lewiston, today helped sponsor and pass legislation, A.8955, which allows parents to protect their children from identity theft. The bill allows parents to place a credit freeze on a child's records. Ceretto said this bill would prevent an identity thief from taking out a line of credit in a child's name, thus combating a growing problem that threatens the future of our children.

According to a 2011 report, more than 140,000 minors are at risk of becoming victims of identity theft annually.

"It's heartbreaking that there are kids who fall prey to identity thieves," Ceretto said. "The crime largely goes undiscovered until they are trying to get their first credit card or a college loan, setting them back for years while they clear their record. Anyone who has been a victim of identity theft knows how serious an issue this is. This bill would allow parents to take a preventative step and place a credit freeze on their kids' records until they are ready to take out a line of credit."

Hometown News

View All News