SB 2886 — Security freeze; allow representative or guardian to place on credit report of protected consumer.

          (b)  A stateprotected orconsumer localsubmitting lawa enforcementrequest agencyfor investigatingremoval amust crimeprovide orall conductingof athe criminalfollowing: background check.

                       (c) (i)  ASufficient personproof administeringof aidentification creditof file monitoring subscription service to which the protected consumer oras thedetermined representative,by on behalf of the protectedconsumer consumer,reporting hasagency; subscribed.

         and (d)               A(ii)  personDocumentation providingthat the protectedsufficient consumer'sproof consumerof reportauthority orof record to the protected consumerconsumer's or representative uponto theact requeston behalf of the protected consumer oris representative.no longer valid.

              (e) ( * * *43)  PursuantA consumer reporting agency shall remove a security freeze placed on a consumer's or protected consumer's file if the security freeze was placed due to a courtmaterial ordermisrepresentation lawfullyof entered.fact by the consumer or representative.  The consumer reporting agency shall notify the consumer or representative in writing before removing the security freeze under this subsection.

              (f) ( * * *54)  AnA insuranceconsumer companyreporting foragency usemay innot settingcharge ora adjustingfee for a rate,request adjustingunder * * * asubsection claim,(1) or underwriting(2) forthis insurancesection purposes.as provided under Section 75-24-201.

              (g) SECTION A3.  consumerSection reporting75-24-203, agency'sMississippi databaseCode or file that consists entirely of information1972, concerning,is andamended usedas exclusivelyfollows: for, one or more of the following:

                  (i) 75-24-203.  CriminalIf recorda information.security freeze is in place, a consumer reporting agency shall notify the consumer or representative in writing of a change in the consumer's or protected consumer's file retained by the consumer reporting agency to the consumer's or protected consumer's name, date of birth, social security number, or address not later than thirty (30) calendar days after the date the change is made.  The agency shall send notification of a change of address to both the new address and former address of the consumer or representative.  This section does not require notice of an immaterial change, including a street abbreviation change or correction of a transposition of letters or misspelling of a word.

                  (ii) SECTION Personal4.  lossSection history75-24-209, information.Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

                  (iii) 75-24-209.  FraudA preventionsecurity orfreeze detection.does not apply to a consumer report provided to:

                       (iv) (a)  TenantA screening.state or local governmental entity, including a law enforcement agency or court or private collection agency, if the entity, agency or court is acting under a court order, warrant, subpoena or administrative subpoena;

                       (v) (b)  EmploymentAn screening.agency acting to investigate or collect child support payments or acting under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 USCS Section 651 et seq.);

                       (vi) (c)  PersonalThe * * *State insuranceTax policyCommission information.Department of Revenue acting to investigate or collect delinquent sales or franchise taxes;

                       (vii) (d)  NoncreditA informationtax usedassessor-collector foracting insuranceto purposes.investigate or collect delinquent ad valorem taxes;

          (h) (e)  A checkperson servicesfor companythe issuingpurposes authorizationsof forprescreening theas purposeprovided ofby approvingthe orFair processingCredit negotiableReporting instruments,Act electronic(15 fundsUSCS transfers,Section or1681 similaret methodsseq.), ofas payment.amended;

          (i) (f)  A depositperson accountwho informationintends service company issuing reports regarding account closures due to fraud,use substantialthe overdrafts, automatic teller machine abuse, or similar negative information regarding a protected consumer to an inquiring financial institution, as defined in 18 USC Section 20, for useemployment onlypurposes; in reviewing a representative's request for a deposit account for the protected consumer at the inquiring financial institution.

          (j) (g)  A consumerperson reportingwho agencyintends thatto actsuse onlythe as a reseller of credit information by assembling and merging information contained in theconnection databasewith ofadjusting anothera consumerclaim, reportingrating agency or multipleunderwriting consumer reporting agencies and that does not maintain a permanent database of creditinsurance informationinvolving fromthe whichconsumer; new consumer reports are produced.  However, such consumer reporting agency shall honor any security freeze placed or removed by another consumer reporting agency.

          (k)(h)   AA fraudperson preventionwith serviceswhom companythe issuingconsumer reportsor protected consumer has an account or contract or to preventwhom the consumer or investigateprotected fraud.consumer has issued a negotiable instrument, or the person's subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee, prospective assignee or private collection agency, for purposes related to that account, contract or instrument;

          (l) (i)  A personsubsidiary, oraffiliate, entity,agent, orassignee its affiliates, or aprospective collectionassignee agency acting on behalf of thea person orto entity,whom withaccess which the protected consumer has anbeen existinggranted account,under requestingSection information75-24-207(2); in the protected consumer's consumer report or record for the purposes of reviewing or collecting the account.  Reviewing the account includes activities related to account maintenance, monitoring, credit line increases, and account upgrades and enhancements.

              (9) (j)  (a)  A consumerperson reportingwho agencyadministers maya chargecredit afile reasonablemonitoring fee,subscription notservice to exceedwhich Tenthe Dollarsconsumer ($10.00), to place or removeprotected aconsumer securityhas freeze.subscribed;

          (b) (k)  A consumerperson reportingfor agencythe maypurpose alsoof chargeproviding a reasonableconsumer fee, or notprotected toconsumer exceedwith Tena Dollarscopy ($10.00),of if the representativeconsumer's failsor toprotected retainconsumer's thereport originalon unique personal identifier provided by the consumerconsumer's reporting agency and the agency must reissue the unique personal identifier or provideprotected aconsumer's newrequest; unique personal identifier to the representative.

          (c) (l)  A consumercheck reportingservice agencyor mayfraud notprevention chargeservice acompany feethat underissues this section to the representative of a protected consumer whoreports: is a victim of identity theft if the representative submits, at the time the security freeze is requested, a copy of a valid investigative report, an incident report, or a complaint with a law enforcement agency about the unlawful use of the protected consumer's identifying information by another person.

                  (10) (i)  IfTo aprevent security freeze is in effect, a consumer reporting agency must send written confirmation to a protected consumer's representative of a change to any of the following official information in the protected consumer's consumer report or recordinvestigate withinfraud; thirty (30) days after the change is posted:

         or (a)               The(ii)  protectedFor consumer'spurposes name.of approving or processing negotiable instruments, electronic funds transfers or similar methods of payment;

          (b) (m)  TheA protecteddeposit consumer'saccount address.information service company that issues consumer reports related to account closures caused by fraud, substantial overdrafts, automated teller machine abuses or similar negative information regarding a consumer to an inquiring financial institution for use by the financial institution only in reviewing a consumer request for a deposit account with that institution;

or           (c) (n)  TheA protectedconsumer consumer'sreporting dateagency ofthat: birth.

               (d) (i)  TheActs protectedonly consumer'sto socialresell securitycredit number.information by assembling and merging information contained in a database of another consumer reporting agency or multiple consumer reporting agencies;

Writtenand confirmation              is(ii)  Does not requiredmaintain for technical corrections of a protectedpermanent consumer'sdatabase official information, including name and street abbreviations, complete spellings, or transposition of numberscredit orinformation letters. from Inwhich the case of an address change, the written confirmation must be sent to the representative and to the protected consumer's new addressconsumer andreports formerare address.produced.

     (11) SECTION If5.  aSection consumer75-24-215, reportingMississippi agencyCode violates a security freeze placed in accordance with this section by releasing information subject to a security freeze without proper authorization, the consumer reporting agency shall, within five (5) business days after discovering or being notified of the1972, releaseis ofamended information,as notifyfollows: the representative of the protected consumer in writing.  The notice must state the specific information released and provide the name, address, and other contact information of the recipient of the information.

     (12) 75-24-215.  TheIf Attorneya Generalthird shallparty investigaterequests anyaccess complaintsto receiveda concerningconsumer violationsreport ofon thiswhich section. a If,security afterfreeze investigatingapplies, anyand complaint,this therequest Attorneyis Generalin findsconnection thatwith therean hasapplication beenfor acredit, violationinsurance ofor thisany section,other thenuse, heand maythe bringconsumer anor actionrepresentative todoes imposenot animmediately administrativerequest penalty. the A consumer reporting agency thatto willfullylift failsthe tosecurity complyfreeze withand anyallow * * *his requirementor imposedher underthe thiscredit sectionreport isto subjectbe toaccessed anfor administrativethat penaltyspecific inparty theor amountperiod of Fivetime, Hundredthe Dollarsthird ($500.00)party formay eachtreat violation imposed by the Attorneyconsumer's General. or Theprotected administrativeconsumer's penaltyapplication shallas beincomplete. deposited in the State General Fund.

     (13) SECTION In6.  additionThis toact anyshall othertake penaltieseffect orand remediesbe providedin underforce law,from personsand whoafter areJuly aggrieved1, by2018. a violation of this section may bring a civil action as follows:

          (a)  A person who obtains a protected consumer's consumer report or record from a consumer reporting agency under false pretenses or who knowingly obtains a protected consumer's consumer report or record without a permissible purpose is liable to the representative and protected consumer for actual damages sustained by the protected consumer or One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), whichever is greater.

          (b)  A person who obtains a protected consumer's consumer report or record from a consumer reporting agency under false pretenses or who knowingly obtains a protected consumer's consumer report or record without a permissible purpose is liable to the consumer reporting agency for actual damages sustained by the consumer reporting agency or One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), whichever is greater.

     (14)  A written disclosure by a consumer reporting agency, pursuant to 15 USC Section 1681g, to a representative and protected consumer residing in this state must include a written summary of all rights that the representative and protected consumer have under this section and, in the case of a consumer reporting agency that compiles and maintains records on a nationwide basis, a toll-free telephone number that the representative can use to communicate with the consumer reporting agency.  The information provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection must be in at least twelve-point boldfaced type.  The written summary of rights required under this section is sufficient if it is substantially in the following form:

          (a)  If you are the parent or legal guardian of a minor younger than eighteen (18) years of age, or an individual for whom a guardian or conservator has been appointed, you have the right to place a security freeze on the consumer report of the person you are legally authorized to care for.  If no consumer report exists, you have the right to request that a record be created and a security freeze be placed on the record.  A record with a security freeze is intended to prevent the opening of credit accounts until the security freeze is removed.

          (b)  You should be aware that using a security freeze to control access to the personal and financial information in a consumer report or record may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, insurance, government services or payments, rental housing, employment, investment, license, cellular phone, utilities, digital signature, Internet credit card transaction, or other services, including an extension of credit at point of sale.

          (c)  To remove the security freeze on the protected consumer's record or report, you must contact the consumer reporting agency and provide all of the following:

              (i)  Proof of identification as required by the consumer reporting agency.

              (ii)  Proof of authority over the protected consumer as required by the consumer reporting agency.

              (iii)  The unique personal identifier provided by the consumer reporting agency.

              (iv)  Payment of a fee.

          (d)  A consumer reporting agency must, within thirty (30) days after receiving the above information, authorize the removal of the security freeze.

          (e)  A security freeze does not apply to a person or entity, or its affiliates, or a collection agency acting on behalf of the person or entity, with which the protected consumer has an existing account, which requests information in the protected consumer's consumer report or record for the purposes of reviewing or collecting the account.  Reviewing the account includes activities related to account maintenance, monitoring, credit line increases, and account upgrades and enhancements.

     SECTION 2.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.