Credit Reporting Firms Step Up ID Fraud Effort

A new effort to combat identity fraud by simplifying the way victims notify credit reporting companies has been announced by the Consumer Data Industry Association, which includes companies in the mortgage reporting services industry.Under the new initiative, victims of identity fraud can make one toll-free call to any of the U.S. credit reporting companies -- Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion -- and be assured that all three companies will take "aggressive" steps to protect their credit information, the CDIA said. "With one phone call, victims will have, in essence, contacted all of the national credit reporting companies," said Stuart Pratt, president and chief executive officer of the CDIA. The association can be found online at http://www.cdiaonline.org.