AUSTIN—On the heels
of the revelation of a major security breach at data broker Choicepoint, a State
Representative Eddie Rodriguez (D-Austin) has introduced a measure to give Texas
consumers the right to know when crooks infringe on their financial DNA.
“We only know about
the Choicepoint fiasco because security breach legislation enacted in California
requires notification when consumer data are compromised,” said Representative
Eddie Rodriguez. “Texans should have the same right to know, so they can
take steps to protect themselves.”
The bill, HB 1527, would
require companies to alert their customers if a breach of security has put them
at risk of identity theft. Recent reports that a fraud ring gained access to
the personal and financial information of an estimated 11,081 Texans from computer
databases maintained by ChoicePoint, Inc., has underscored the need for tougher
safeguards against identity theft. The ChoicePoint files that were compromised
contained such sensitive information as Social Security numbers linked to names
and addresses. Already, an estimated 750 people were reportedly targets of an
identity theft scheme as a result of the ChoicePoint security breach.
“Creditors and identity
thieves alike are routinely given the key to the database vaults,” said
Luke Metzger, an Advocate with the Texas Public Interest Research Group (TexPIRG).
“When businesses mess up, they need to own up, and they need to alert consumers
that they may be at risk”
