On June 7, the Federal Trade Commission issued a public notice regarding the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which goes into effect on September 21, 2018.  The new law mandates that the three major credit reporting agencies set up webpages to allow consumers to request one-year fraud alerts and credit freezes.  The FTC will post links to those webpages on IdentityTheft.gov.

The law requires any credit freeze to be free of charge – nationwide.  Currently, some credit freezes may involve fees under state law.  The new law also allows consumers to freeze a child’s credit file until the child is 16 years of age.

Further, consumers will be allowed to request one-year fraud alerts, which are currently set at 90 days. An initial fraud alert will still be free, and identity theft victims can still get an extended fraud alert for seven years. For military servicemembers, the new law provides more.  Within a year, credit reporting agencies must offer free electronic credit monitoring to all active duty military.

Troutman Sanders will continue to monitor these developments and provide any further updates as they are available.