Stealing Your Good Name
The shock of discovering that your identity has been assumed by someone else sounds like a plot from the old “Twilight Zone,” but identity theft is here and now. Gov. Wilson has signed a law making it a crime to misuse another person’s identity, specifically when the point is credit fraud. This is an important new consumer protection.
While sophisticated in theory, theft of an identity is surprisingly easy to pull off. Because we all use credit cards, driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers in our daily transactions, such data is often out in the open and can be appropriated by people with ill intent.
Then, at stores offering instant credit, the identity thief fills out an application with your name and personal data. Bingo, credit-wise, he is you.
Even the numbers don’t have to be precise. Some credit reporting agencies routinely extend their approval if only seven of the nine Social Security numbers and either the first or last name match the name on the application. Other vitals--birth date, address, driver’s license and credit line--may not match, but even that would not automatically block an application.
For a crook, this is easy money. Victims, meanwhile, have had little recourse. Many police departments have tended to look at the store offering credit as the victim and therefore have not routinely investigated such scams. Nor have the credit agencies, punting instead to the retailers. Usually the victim has been left to resolve the mess while his credit double is on the loose.
Now state law, under AB 156, sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles), makes it a misdemeanor for a person to obtain or use personal identifying information of another without permission, or to obtain credit with the unauthorized information. Credit bureaus are only permitted to release reports for instant credit if an applicant provides a photo ID. Credit reports cannot be released unless information on a credit application matches a consumer’s file. If a victim files a police report to the credit reporting agency, the agency must remove inaccurate information from the victim’s credit file.
California is the first state to protect consumers against identity rip-offs, one the fastest-growing consumer frauds. It’s a good start but more must be done.
