CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little 'Business Buzz' now. A new law could soon give consumers new ways to fight identity theft. Carrie Lee has that from the Nasdaq market site. Hello -- Carrie.</s>CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Once again, identity theft affecting a lot of people. There were nearly 10 million ID theft victims last year costing consumers $5 billion. So here's what's happening. Now this would be the most significant overhaul of credit laws in four years, and it will give consumers some new ways to monitor the status of their credit records. The law is known as the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. And it's expected to be signed by President Bush this week. Congress gave it the OK last week. This is the first law to set national safeguards against ID theft, also preempting most state laws on the subject. And it's designed to make it tougher for ID thieves to get credit in consumer's names. Now there are some changes here, specifically, consumers will be able to obtain a free copy of their credit report if they are denied credit for something. Credit reports usually cost between $9 and $15. So this will make it a little easier for people. Consumers will also be notified if merchants report missing payments to credit bureaus. A couple of other changes, too, Carol, but that is an overview. Obviously something that will help a lot of people, because once you get sort of into -- or a victim of this problem, it can be a real -- a real issue to clear up. So it makes it easier for people to make sure their financial information is all straight and accurate. Back to you.</s>COSTELLO: Hopefully so. Carrie Lee live from the Nasdaq market site. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com This Week>
Stopping Identity Theft: President Expected to Sign Law This Week