More Time Allowed to Report Identity Theft

Gov. Gray Davis has signed a bill extending the time a victim of identity theft has to report the crime.

Under the legislation, a victim has three years to report the crime, beginning when he or she notices the problem, instead of when the crime is committed.

“This bill is critical because some victims of identity theft find out about the crime a couple months to years after it happens,” said Linda Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego.

Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), who wrote the bill, said it had been inspired by one of her constituents, who didn’t notice that someone had been using credit cards in his name until three years after the crime was committed -- too late to file for any damages.

“Given the nature of this type of crime, a victim doesn’t necessarily know about a problem until they go to access their credit report or file for a loan,” Jackson said.

She said studies have found that the average amount an identity theft victim loses is about $17,000.

The Federal Trade Commission has reported 161,819 complaints of identity theft for 2002, twice as many as for 2001.

Identity theft is the use of a victim’s personal information, often including his or her address, birth date and Social Security number, for such purposes as opening checking accounts or to get credit.

As the numbers of identity-theft crimes increase, so do the legislative actions to create higher standards for privacy protection.

In the last year alone, nearly 20 bills have been proposed at the state and federal levels.

But some of those bills have faced opposition from banks and other businesses that say they go too far.

“I want to see California take the lead in making strong laws protecting privacy rights,” Jackson said.