By the Globe Editorial Staff
Identity Thieves are working feverishly, unlike members of the US
Congress and Massachusetts Legislature, who have yet to create muscular
laws to protect consumers from identity theft and credit card fraud.
Such legislative inaction, combined with lax security practices by
companies and consumer credit agencies, creates the ideal environment
for common thieves and sophisticated impostors alike.
TJX Cos.,
the parent company of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods, is the
latest business to suffer a serious data breach. Millions of shoppers
who used their credit cards, debit cards, and checks at TJX-affiliated
stores could become prey, according to the Massachusetts Bankers
Association. This is no case of a sloppy accountant who accidentally
misplaced a laptop with personal information of clients. Thieves using
computers struck the Framingham retail giant and made off with details
that can be used to make multiple purchases under the victims' names.
In
July, the nonprofit Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group
released a compelling report showing that Massachusetts had fallen
behind in the area of protecting consumers against identity theft.
Lawmakers in more than 30 states wisely stopped looking to Congress for
a solution and devised methods to foil identity thieves, or at least
give consumers a fighting chance. The best laws make it easy for
consumers to freeze their credit reports, at no cost, to prevent
impostors from establishing a parallel identity. Massachusetts
residents need such an option, and quickly.
Companies
and government agencies should also be required to inform consumers by
mail when a breach takes place. Businesses dread the expense and
embarrassment of such disclosures. But it is precisely such fear of
exposure that serves as an incentive for companies to create secure
data systems, including encryptions.
Several
identity theft bills, including a Masspirg bill and a strong offering
from Senator Michael Morrissey of Quincy, died last year in committee.
But legislators can no longer use the excuse that they're too
overwhelmed with health care reform legislation to tackle a tough
issue. And consumers don't want to hear any more tiresome arguments
between banks and defrauded companies about which party should pay to
replace victims' credit cards.
Nearly
everyone is a potential mark for identity thieves. Even Attorney
General Martha Coakley, the state's top law enforcement officer, was
stung last week when an unauthorized person used her credit card number
to try to buy a computer in Texas. The thieves are getting bolder and
more sophisticated. Legislators can't stand by idly while more of their
constituents suffer electronic muggings.
