BILL NUMBER: S636

SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting
consumer reporting agencies from requiring or requesting certain consum-
er information

 
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:

To improve consumer protection against fraud and misuse of consumer
confidential information. This bill will cease the practice of false
consumer reporting agencies requesting confidential information such as
a copy of a social security card. This bill will deny consumer reporting
agencies from requesting a copy of a consumer's social security card.
For the purposes of proper identification consumer reporting agencies
may request a social security number.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

              

Section 1 provides what is acceptable as sufficient proof of identifica-
tion

Section 2 amends section 380-v of the general business law and re-let-
ters it as section 380-w while also adding a new section 380-v as
follows:

Section 380-v puts limitations on requests for identifying documenta-
tion. Section 3 provides the date in which this act will take effect.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In New York State, identity theft has increased forty-seven percent
between 2014 and 2015. In 2015, debt collection complaints of identity
theft were the top complaint for the first time in sixteen years. In
2015 alone, in the United States, 15.3 billion dollars was stolen from
13.1 million people and in 2016, 16 billion dollars was stolen from 15.4
million people. Identity theft and misuse of identification documents
such as social security cards is an increasing detrimental problem that
needs to be confronted immediately. The most common type of identity
theft is theft of government documents. This bill will cease consumer
reporting agencies from requesting copies of social security cards,
therefore putting a blockade in front of false agencies attempting to
commit fraud. This bill will inevitably protect millions of people from
falling victim to identity theft and fraud.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.8427 of 2018, referred to consumer protection

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the nineteenth day after it shall have
become a law.