BILL NUMBER:  S3583

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the general business law, in
relation to the definition of "protected consumer"

 PURPOSE :

Relates to defining a "protected consumer" as an individual who is
under the age of 18 years.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 amends subdivision (o) of section 380-a of the general
business law, as added by chapter 441 of the laws of 2014 to read as
follows: The term "protected consumer" will mean an individual who is
under the age of eighteen years of age at the time a request for the
placement of a security freeze is made.

Section 2 Effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a child's social
security number can be used by identity thieves to apply for
government benefits, open bank and credit card accounts, apply for a
loan or utility service, or rent a place to live. According to a 2011
              

report from ID Analytics, an identity theft protection firm, an
estimated 140,000 minors are at risk of becoming victims of identity
theft each and every year. Another 2011 study, from CyLab, a research
center at Carnegie Mellon University, examined 43,000 children who
were registered with a commercial identity protection service and
found that 10% of them had someone else using their social security
number. Cylab also documented that kids under the age of 18 are 51
times more likely to become victims of identity theft than their
parents. The FTC advises parents to check their children's credit
reports to see if their personal information is being misused, and to
take immediate action if it is. However, there is a glaring error in
the law in which no mechanism currently exists for parents of children
in New York State ages 17 to take proactive measures to protect their
children's credit. This bill would include seventeen year olds within
the scope of protections.

In 2014, New York amended its general business law to line up with
other state laws in line with state laws, which require credit
reporting agencies to allow a parent to freeze their child's credit
even when no file exists, thereby averting the potential for identity
theft to occur in the first place. That law defined a "protected
consumer" as anyone under the age of 16.

Child identity theft is a particularly egregious problem because it
may go undetected for years, until the child applies for student
loans, other forms of credit, or even a job. Further, child identity
theft is particularly detrimental because it can postpone college
admission due to student loan denials, gaining employment, accessing
credit, and renting or purchasing a home. These delays can last for
months or even years, until the child can dispute the fraudulent
activity and have the activity cleared from their credit report. In
our global world, and in light of data-sharing of our children's
personally identifying information, it is imperative that parents have
a way to protect their children's credit records. Thus raising the age
of a "protected consumer" to under the age of 18 is imperative so that
all minors are afforded these vital protections.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2015-16: S.6254/A.8619 Referred to Finance.
 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to the State.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.