The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today announced that it is seeking public input in advance of a proposed rule to extend the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s identity theft protections to certain negative information on the credit reports of victims of domestic violence, elder abuse or other forms of financial abuse.
Abusers often use coerced debt as a tool of control, forming their partners or family members to take out credit cards or loans through threats, physical violence or manipulation, the CFPB said in a statement. Through an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, the agency is soliciting information on amending the definitions of “identity theft” and “identity theft report” in Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act, to include information stemming from transactions that occurred “without the consumer’s effective consent.”
The CFPB is seeking information on topics including the prevalence and harms of economic abuse, to what extent current federal and state laws protect victims, what documentation should be required to show a consumer’s debt was coerced, whether to provide for self-attestation, and whether there are circumstances giving rise to a presumption of coercion.
The proposed rulemaking is in response to a petition submitted by the National Consumer Law Center and the Center for Survivor Agency and Justice. The deadline for submitting comments is March 7, 2025.
