8-19-13 child credit protection

A Fond du Lac state representative is the co-sponsor of a bill that would provide credit protection for minors.  Republican state representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt testified at a public hearing recently before the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection on the bill he says proactively addresses child identity theft.  Thiesfeldt says the proposed bill allows a parent or legal guardian to freeze a child’s credit record or open a credit record in the child’s name to place a freeze on it until the child turns 16.  Thiesfeldt says recent studies reveal that children are 35 times more likely than adults to have their identity stolen and over half of the perpetrators are family members or friends.