The ID Thieves Want You
There are all kinds of frauds and rip-offs, but the most personal is the theft of one’s very identity. Consumers are increasingly vulnerable to such crimes because personal data including Social Security numbers can be snatched easily and legally from a wide variety of sources, including the Internet. Ask victims of identity fraud. The experience of discovering that someone is impersonating you and perhaps wrecking your credit rating to get bank cards, cars, jobs and even houses is dreadful, and the lack of consumer protections is appalling. National safeguards are needed.
A number of bills now before Congress would provide uniform federal privacy protections for consumers. The proposals include prohibiting the release of information from credit reports, making it illegal to sell a person’s Society Security number for commercial use or for identification purposes without the person’s consent, and restricting the use of Social Security numbers by state departments of motor vehicles.
The Federal Trade Commission has a new report raising concerns about online privacy, especially when children are involved. And the General Accounting Office recently issued a report detailing the rise in identity fraud and noted three basic problems:
* There is no specific definition of identity fraud. Possession of another person’s identifying information is not itself a crime. Only when the information is used to deceive is a crime committed. This can range from unauthorized use of credit cards to fully assuming another person’s identity and financial accounts. Arizona and California are the only states where identity theft is a specific crime.
* Enforcement is fragmented. Oversight is spread among the Secret Service, Social Security Administration, FBI, Postal Inspection Service and Internal Revenue Service.
* Identity fraud is difficult to track because the various agencies classify cases only according to how information is illegally used, not on the basis of improperly possessing someone else’s identifying information.
Losses identified in Secret Service investigations of financial crimes involving identity fraud totaled $745 million in fiscal 1997, compared with $450 million the previous year. Postal Inspection Service investigations showed that identity fraud is a nationwide problem and often involves organized crime.
Technology is making it easier--and more profitable--to gather and sell information about consumers. Associated Credit Bureaus Inc. told the GAO that member firms earn “tens of millions of dollars” annually by selling personal information that includes name, unlisted address and phone number, Social Security number, date of birth and mother’s maiden name--the last three of which are commonly used as identifiers by banks and others.
At the end of this year, credit reporting bureaus will begin voluntary efforts to curb access to personal identifying information, but the effort will be far too feeble. For example, the industry could still sell sensitive personal data to so-called qualified buyers, and it is unclear who would fall into that category.
There’s no getting around the need for federal legislation. Congress should quickly establish identity theft as a crime in itself and eliminate gray areas of current law that allow unauthorized use and sale of data.
To Take Action: To learn how to protect your privacy, check the Federal Trade Commission’s “About Privacy” at https://www.ftc.gov or write to the FTC Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Washington, D.C. 20580 or call (202) 382-4357.
