Diss credited

Equifax outrage spurs crackdown bill

ALBANY — The Equifax data breach — and the company’s response to it — has state lawmakers readying new measures to boost consumer protections and better scrutinize credit monitoring agencies.

State Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx) blasted Equifax’s handling of the breach as “outrageous.” He said he’ll introduce a bill Monday requiring credit monitoring agencies to provide lifetime identify theft protections to anyone whose vital information is stolen during a breach of their systems.

The bill also would stop the agencies from charging fees for security freezes placed on credit reports of people whose vital information is compromised.

“We want to protect consumers,” Dinowitz told the Daily News. “The bill that I am proposing is the bare minium of what one should expect from these agencies.”

Dinowitz, who chairs the Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, noted Equifax has offered free credit monitoring for a year and is only willing to waive security freeze fees through Nov. 21.

“This response is simply unacceptable,” Dinowitz (photo inset, left) said.

State Sen. David Carlucci (DRockland County), chairman of the Senate’s Consumer Protection Committee, has agreed to carry Dinowitz’s bill in the Senate and is also planning a Sept. 28 hearing on identity theft.

Additionally, Queens Sen. Leroy Comrie (inset, right), a Democrat, has introduced a set of bills that would require credit rating agencies to report any breach within 15 days of its discovery and place automatic security freezes on the credit reports of consumers whose information is stolen.

The bills would also give the state Department of Financial Services additional power to regulate the credit monitoring agencies.

Because the Legislature’s annual session has ended, it is unlikely any of the Equifax-related bills will be acted upon before next year.