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