Agencies urge steps to curb identity theft
A U.S. task force created to curb identity theft urged federal agencies Monday to help protect people by ceasing unnecessary use of Social Security numbers.
Recommendations put forward by the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission also included that Congress toughen and expand existing laws to make some identity thieves face a mandatory two-year sentence.
The identity theft prevention task force, chaired by U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales and FTC Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras, was established last May by the White House. It now includes 17 federal agencies and departments such as the Homeland Security Department and the U.S. Postal Service.
The task force called for measures requiring the private sector to safeguard personal data and notify people when a breach occurs and for creating a national identity theft law enforcement center for coordinating police investigations.
Also, it recommended legislative changes to help federal prosecutors charge those who use spyware, which can harvest personal data from a user’s computer.
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