Increasing identity theft has tightened consumer credit and spurred reforms in the laws pertaining to the degree to which consumers can control their own credit data. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to address issues of identity theft and consumer access to credit information and includes provisions such as allowing consumers to place fraud alerts on their credit profiles and requiring the truncation of credit card numbers on receipts. This Consumer Financial Services Law Report "Guest Commentary" by Mr. Jerison (co-authored with Mark Rooney, JD) reviews FACTA's main substantive provisions and ongoing efforts to increase consumer access to credit information.

Jon Jerison and Mark Rooney conclude their article with a discussion of the changes to FCRA as a result of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act and what they predict will be calls for greater transparency in the credit reporting system.

This article appeared in Volume 14, Issue 18 of the Consumer Financial Services Law Report and is reprinted with permission of Thomson Reuters.