State Lawmakers Take Aim at Growing Identity Theft Crimes

To the cheers of consumer advocates and law enforcement officials, state lawmakers have proposed wide-ranging legislation aimed at fighting the growing crime of identity theft, with at least seven bills pending before various committees.

“This is unprecedented. We’ve never seen as many bills on identity theft as we have in a single legislative session this year,” said Beth Givens, director of San Diego-based Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer rights organization. “It’s a sign of the epidemic proportions of this crime.”

Identity theft occurs when someone uses the identity of another to commit fraud or other misdeeds. With such information as Social Security numbers and other personal data, identity thieves have opened credit accounts, obtained loans, taken over bank accounts, rented apartments and even established lengthy criminal records in other people’s names.

California, one of the first states to criminalize the act two years ago, “appears to be at the forefront” of identity theft legislation across the country, said Tony Hadley, director of legislative affairs for Experian, one of the nation’s largest credit-reporting bureaus.

Public attention on identity theft has heightened in recent years because of increased incidents.

From 1998 to 1999, the Los Angeles Police Department’s identity theft caseload nearly doubled, from fewer than 1,600 to more than 3,000, while the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported a 40% increase, from about 650 to more than 900.

Although identity theft was virtually unheard of a decade ago, by last year one of every five Americans or a member of their family said they have been a victim of identity theft, according to an independent survey commissioned by Image Data LLC, an identity fraud prevention service based in Nashua, N.H.

While current California laws focus primarily on criminalizing the act and providing some relief for victims of financial fraud, “there’s still quite a bit left to be done,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas Papageorge, head of the Consumer Protection Division of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Papageorge also helped draft the state’s existing identity theft laws.

The proposed laws are intended to help victims clear criminal records wrongfully established in their names, beef up law enforcement efforts, change credit industry practices and give consumers greater control over dissemination of personal data.

“Every one of [these bills] has something important to offer,” said Mari Frank, an Orange County attorney who has written books on identity theft. “The legislators realize this is a hot issue.”

A bill that has received wide support is one introduced by Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks), the incoming Assembly speaker, that aims to improve law enforcement and public education efforts by creating identity theft units within the state Department of Justice.

The units, proposed for the southern, central and northern parts of the state, would have investigatory and prosecutorial power as well as serve as information clearinghouses for consumers, law enforcement and the private sector.

“That way you can get a broader picture as to the volume of the crime in the state,” said Det. Joe Dulla of the forgery-fraud detail of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, a co-sponsor of the bill.

Hertzberg’s proposed law, which is lauded by consumer advocates, law enforcement and the credit industry, is also intended to improve cooperation between agencies.

“The suspects operate across jurisdictional boundaries. It’s time we start doing the same thing,” Dulla said.

Consumer rights advocates are applauding legislation proposed by Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey), which seeks to reduce the use of Social Security numbers and change certain credit industry practices.

The bill would allow consumers to “freeze” their credit information and reduce current industry practices of granting easy or instant credit. For instance, credit agencies would be prohibited from sending unsolicited credit cards or blank checks to consumers, and companies would be required to verify more information from credit applicants before granting credit.

Bowen’s proposed law would give victims the right to obtain copies of credit applications taken out in their name to help them establish their innocence.

“This would be wonderful for victims and consumers,” Frank, the Orange County attorney, said of the bill.

But those in the credit industry are wary. The bill’s provisions could be “excluding qualified applicants without addressing the identity theft issue,” said Maxine Sweet, vice president of consumer affairs for Experian. “You have to be balancing the harm with the good.”

Consumer advocates say several of the bills are just common sense, such as the one introduced by Assemblywoman Lynne Leach (R-Walnut Creek) that would make it more difficult for impostors to fraudulently obtain driver’s licenses.

If passed, Department of Motor Vehicles employees would be required to match the photograph and personal information of those seeking replacement cards with what the DMV has on file.

A couple of bills focus on helping victims facing the “worst-case scenario” of identity theft: dealing with debts run up or even crimes committed by others in their names.

A bill introduced by Assemblyman Roderick Wright (D-Los Angeles) would give victims of identity theft greater power to bring legal action to stop creditors from collecting debts incurred by impostors.

One of the most significant provisions of the bill, advocates say, is that it would give victims the right to obtain criminal records established by an identity thief in their name.

“The Wright bill will allow citizens of California to check state criminal records and correct them if the records show impostors have used the names of innocent people in committing crimes,” said Papageorge of the district attorney’s office, a co-sponsor of the bill.

But a provision of the bill that would allow consumers to more easily block distribution of information in their credit files could also encourage abuses by unscrupulous consumers--those who falsely claim to be the victims of identity thieves, credit industry officials said.

A bill proposed by Assemblywoman Susan A. Davis (D-San Diego) hopes to give victims greater powers to establish their innocence by allowing them to ask the court to destroy criminal records established falsely in their names.

“Any legislation that helps victims clear their records is not a bad thing,” Det. Steve Madden of the LAPD’s Financial Crimes Division said. “Anything that would help further the investigation of these crimes and facilitate the solving of these crimes would be welcome.”

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Bills on Board Bills on identity theft recently introduced in the California Legislature:

Liaison Units--AB 1949, introduced by Assemblyman and incoming Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks), would establish new units within the state Department of Justice that would serve as liaisons between local, state and federal agencies as well as information clearinghouses.

Social Security Numbers--SB 1767, introduced by state Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey), would prohibit anyone from unnecessarily requiring Social Security numbers on applications and using them as identifiers and make it a crime to acquire or distribute Social Security numbers without their owners’ consent. It also is intended to limit access to consumers’ credit files.

DMV Checks--AB 2382, introduced by Assemblywoman Lynne Leach (R-Walnut Creek), would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to compare the photograph and personal information of anyone seeking a replacement license with the original picture and data the DMV has on file.

Police Reports--AB 1897, introduced by Assemblywoman Susan A. Davis (D-San Diego), would allow victims to use a copy of their police report to obtain a new driver’s license or identification number from the DMV. Victims would have the right to ask a court to declare them innocent of crimes committed by impostors and may ask the court to seal, expunge or destroy false information, including criminal records, established by impostors in their name.

Credit Privacy--AB 2462, introduced by Assemblyman Roderick Wright (D-Los Angeles), would give victims greater power to block credit information from being circulated and stop creditors from collecting debts incurred by impostors. It would also make it a felony for anyone to provide false personal identification information to a peace officer or government agency.

Personal Information--AB 1365, introduced by state Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Culver City), would give identity theft victims the right to prohibit direct marketers from disclosing personal information as well as bar the disclosure of certain information to convicted felons.

Data Base--AB 1862, introduced by Assemblyman Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch), would create a state Department of Justice database on identity theft victims to help prove their victimization.

Source: Los Angeles Times research