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#345580 - 04/11/05 10:24 PM Michigan Senate Bill 657
Howard McCarty Offline
New Poster
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 3
Chicago, Illinois
Michigan has enacted a new consumer protection bill, Enrolled Senate Bill # 657 which went into effect in March, 2005. The language is vague but in section 3(hh)(v), there is a prohibition of the practice of asking for a consumers SSN except in certain cases. The exception listed in section (v)is if the SSN is used to "identify the individual through the use of a fraud prevention service database." We use SSN's to identify callers if they cannot remember their account number. I don't consider our database to qualify as a fraud prevention database.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

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#345581 - 04/12/05 01:23 PM Re: Michigan Senate Bill 657
Bartman Offline
Diamond Poster
Bartman
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,191
Springfield
I don't think you'll necessarily run afoul of this law by simply asking for an SSN as a means of ID verification. My reading of this modification to the MI Consumer Protection Act is that it was designed to prevent businesses from requiring an SSN prior to delivering services, unless you're a bank or other exempted business. Here's the legislative analysis that covers this & similar bills that became PA 462 of 2004.

My broader question is this - if your caller doesn't know his account number but does provide an SSN, do you have confidence that you're releasing information to the actual customer? Or could this be an identity thief? Maybe you also ask for amount of last deposit / payment, or ask for some pre-established PIN or code word - just a thought...
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Opinions are Bartman's, not those of my employer. "A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man."

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#345582 - 04/12/05 01:59 PM Re: Michigan Senate Bill 657
Howard McCarty Offline
New Poster
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 3
Chicago, Illinois
Very helpful. Thanks much.

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#345583 - 11/01/05 10:33 PM Re: Michigan Senate Bill 657
Anonymous
Unregistered

michigan rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ya baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! o ya o ya o ya!!!!!!! go wolverines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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