| Volume 141 Number 41 |
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REGISTER NOW for the next session of the People's Law School being held Saturday, October 6 at the University of Houston Law Center.Click here for more.
The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
IdentityTheft.gov is the federal government’s one-stop resource for identity theft victims. The site provides streamlined checklists and sample letters to guide you through the recovery process. Click here for more.
Protect Yourself From a Medical Data Breach
Theft of your personal medical information is on the rise, despite stringent privacy laws intended to safeguard it, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The breaches of electronic health records can include a vast array of personal information, including your Social Security number and medical history. The theft is just the latest example of how all private data is increasingly subject to breaches, where credit card numbers, account logins, and more end up in the wrong hands. Click here for more.
Your Money
Consumers have had a pretty good summer, if the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index is to be believed. After a big jump in August, the index -- a gauge of how consumers feel about economic issues -- has reached an 18-year high. To be precise, the last time consumers felt this good about the economy and their present situation was just before the dot-com crash of 2000. This month the index reached 138.4, up from 134.7 in August. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Debt collector’s letter reference to the possibility of forgiveness of the debt being reported to the IRS may violate FDCPA. The Third Circuit held that a statement in debt collection letters saying forgiveness of the debt may be reported to the IRS could constitute a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act because the debts in question were too small to be reported. The decision revived a potential class action against Midland Credit Management Inc. Robert A. Schultz Jr. et al v. Midland Credit Management Inc., case number 17-2244, 3rd Cir. Click here for more.