and improve their credit standing, rather than seeking to exploit consumers’ concerns and confusion about credit reporting and scoring, to boost their companies’ profits. (F) Vulnerable consumers, who have legitimate concerns about the security of their personal and financial information, deserve clear, accurate, and transparent information about the credit reporting tools that may be available to them, such as fraud alerts and freezes. (12) Loan comparison shopping (A) The Consumer Bureau’s February 2015 report titled Consumer Voices on Credit Reports and Scores found that some consumers are reluctant to comparison shop for loans and other types of consumer credit products out of fear that they will lower their credit scores by doing so. (B) The Consumer Bureau found that one of the most common barriers for people in reviewing their own credit reports and shopping for the best credit terms was a lack of understanding of the differences between soft and hard inquiries and whether requesting a copy of their own report would adversely impact their credit standing. (C) The Consumer Bureau revealed that consumers with accurate perceptions of their creditworthiness may be better equipped to shop for favorable credit terms. (13) Protections for consumers’ credit information (A) Despite heightened awareness, incidents of ID theft continue to rise. In February 2015, the FTC reported that ID theft was the top consumer complaint that it received for the 15th consecutive year. As these incidents increase, consumers experience significant financial loss and emotional distress from the inability to safeguard effectively and inexpensively their credit information from bad actors. (B) According to a Carnegie Mellon study, children are 50 times more likely than adults to have their identities stolen. Child identities are valuable to thieves because most children do not have existing files, and their parents may not notice fraudulent activity until their child applies for a student loan, a job, or a credit card. As a result, the