Last week, the house passed a bill 116-0 that will require the nation’s three consumer-reporting agencies to allow Florida parents to open and freeze their child’s credit record. Doing so would prevent scammers from using children’s personal information or opening fraudulent accounts on their behalf. Such scams are a growing problem in Florida. Recently, a Broward County teacher was convicted of stealing children’s information from their student IDs. The bill, HB493, will protect the identity of every child in the State of Florida. Florida, particularly South Florida, is number one in the nation when it comes to identity theft.
In 2011, nearly 1,800 children’s identities were stolen in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties alone. Since then, the Federal Trade Commission has found that cases of identity theft have more than doubled in South Florida. There have even been cases where infants’ identities have been stolen and their families did not realize it until many years later. Scammers would steal a child’s identity and begin applying for credit cards on their behalf, according to IDChildNow.com. Sen. Nancy Detert has introduced a similar bill to the Senate. If the bill is passed it will be the second bill of this nature in the nation. Maryland adopted a similar law last year. Experts say that the current policies make it extremely easy for scammers to steal children’s identities.
Click here to read more on the House Bill to Protect Kids from Identity Theft.
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.