October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and New York State is strengthening protections and support for survivors with new legislation. This package, signed into law by Governor Hochul on Tuesday (October 18,2022), includes five bills that contain increased consumer protections for the victims of domestic and sexual violence.
As noted by the NYS Division of Consumer Protection, “victims of domestic violence can be particularly vulnerable to identity theft. Survivors of domestic violence often need to take extra precautions to protect themselves from abusers who may use their personal information as a means of control. Their partners have easy access to confidential information that may come to their home in the form of credit card bills and Social Security mailings. Abusers may use such information to open new credit cards in the survivors' names and/or open lines of credit in their children's names.”
It is imperative that consumers, especially survivors of domestic violence, know their rights and the available privacy protections. That now includes the ability to update geographic information for medical bills, privacy for voter registrations, protections when choosing to opt-out of utility contracts and expanded coverage under the Human Rights Law.
Additional details on this package of legislation and the Governor’s announcement can be found here. For assistance with identity theft or to submit a consumer protection complaint, contact our office by email at consumerprotection@erie.gov or call 716-858-1987.