New legislation will expand the power of law enforcement…
Consumer advocates and security experts agree that too may people have access to documents which contain personal information, leaving consumers vulnerable to identity theft and credit fraud. But many merchants don’t take any security precautions at all. Even more disturbing is that a shortage of law enforcement resources results in only 10% of identity theft cases ever being investigated. New legislation could change that…
Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) recently introduced a bill, the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act, S. 2168, which gives victims the chance to seek restitution, if anyone is convicted, that will help address the problem. It will also expand the power of law enforcement agencies to deal with cases of identity theft. In addition, more than 20 bills concerning identity theft are currently pending in Congress.
Leading the way in identity theft legislation is California. Many consumer-rights and law-enforcement advocates want to see other states copy California laws, which do the following:
- Security breaches that compromise personal data, including Social Security numbers, must be revealed to consumers.
- After notification of fraudulent activity, consumers will be entitled to a free credit report every month for a year.
- Requests for birth or death records will require proof of identity and a signed form indicating the reason for the request.
- Allow consumers to freeze their credit reports, if they’ve been a victim of fraud. This will require credit bureaus to get permission before revealing credit reports to lenders.
- Require credit issuers to honor fraud alerts on file.
- Limit the use of Social Security numbers.
- Law-enforcement officials are required to take reports of identity theft in the jurisdiction where the victim resides.
Tim Bennett, the president of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA) said, “This recent cybercrime bill is an integral part of the cybercrime fight, but it is also imperative that this Congress address through legislation other aspects of the problem, such as data security, to prevent criminals from getting sensitive personal information in the first place.”
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