Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions - S. 1533

July 31, 2003

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Ms. CANTWELL (for herself and Mr. ENZI):

    S. 1533. A bill to prevent the crime of identity theft, mitigate the harm to individuals throughout the Nation who have been victimized by identity theft, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

    Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise today to re-introduce legislation critical to helping victims of identity theft. This legislation, the Identity Theft Victims Assistance Act, passed the Senate by unanimous consent in the 107th Congress, and I look forward to its passage again this Congress. Last year, the legislation had strong bipartisan support, as evidenced by the fact that Senator MIKE ENZI is cosponsoring it again. The bill has broad support from law enforcement, consumers' groups, and privacy advocates. Last year, the National Center for the Victims of Crime, the Fraternal Order of Police, Consumers Union, Identity Theft Resource Center, U.S. Public Interest Group, Police Executive Forum, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, and Amazon.com supported the bill. Twenty-two state Attorneys General signed a letter supporting the legislation.

    Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the country. The Federal Trade Commission found that complaints of identity theft increased 87 percent between 2001 and 2002, and over 161,000 complaints were received by the agency last year. A July 2003 study by Gartner Inc. found that there was a 79 percent increase in identity theft in the past year alone. Identity theft now accounts for 43 percent of consumer fraud complaints and leads the list of consumer frauds. It is an insidious crime because it often occurs without the victim's knowledge, yet leaves scars on their credit records and reputations that can last for years, and cost thousands of dollars to repair.

    The Secret Service has estimated that consumers lose $745 million to the problem each year, and this number is clearly growing as the number of identity thefts increases. When a victim realizes that his or her identity was stolen it's just the beginning of their troubles. The FTC estimates that it costs the average victim $1,000 in long-distance phone calls, notary charges, mailing costs and lost wages to get his or her financial life back in order after an identity thief strikes. The Identity Theft Resources Center estimates that average identity theft victims spend 175 hours to clear their records.

    But the costs are not confined to consumers—identity theft hits businesses and the economy, too. Identity theft-related losses suffered by MasterCard and Visa jumped from $79.9 million in 1996 to $144.3 million in 2000. One study estimates that by 2006 identity theft will cost the financial institution sector alone $8 billion per year.

    To take just one of many examples from my state, Jenni D'Avis of Mill Creek, Washington, had her Social Security number stolen when a thief took her mail and found the number listed on a letter from her community college. The criminal used the number to obtain a state identification card, and in turn used that to get credit. In just 23 days, the thief ran up $100,000 in bad debt—all in Jenni's name. Once she became aware of the problem, she had to become a "Nancy Drew," and track down information. Businesses were reluctant to give her the information she needed to determine the extent of the problem and clear her name and credit record. She is still repairing the damage.

    Sadly, Jenni's story is not unique. Victims of identity theft have difficulty restoring their credit and regaining control of their identity, in part, because they have no simple means to show creditors and credit reporting agencies that they are who they say they are. In order to prove fraud, a victim often needs copies of creditors records, such as applications and information, and records from the companies the identity thief did business with. Ironically, victims have difficulty obtaining these business records because the victim's personal identifying information does not match the information on file with the business.

    This bill fixes that problem. The Identity Theft Victims Assistance Act creates a standardized national process for a person to establish he or she is a victim of identity theft for purposes of tracing fraudulent credit transactions and obtaining the evidence to repair them. It requires the Federal Trade Commission to make available a simple certificate that, when notarized, provides certainty to businesses and financial institutions that the person is who they claim to be, is a victim of identity theft, and has filed claims with both local law enforcement and the FTC. With this document in hand, the victim can then obtain from businesses the records they need.

    The need for a national system is readily apparent, as identity theft is increasingly a crime that crosses state lines. One of the greatest challenges identity theft presents to law enforcement is that a stolen identity is used to create false identities in many different localities in different states. Although identity theft is a federal crime, most often, state and local law enforcement agencies are responsible for investigating and prosecuting the crimes. Yet law enforcement has yet to fully recognize the serious nature of the problem or to develop a coordinated investigative strategy. For example, in the case of Michael Calip of Centralia, Washington, identity thieves not only ran up $60,000 in debts, they also committed crimes using his name—trashing his credit record and creating a criminal record. Michael tracked the thieves to Wyoming, but had difficulty convincing local authorities there to pursue his case.

    My bill for the first time also permits a victim to designate the investigating agency, either local or state law enforcement or federal investigators, to act as their agents in obtaining evidence of identity theft. This both eases the burden on the victim and aids police in investigating suspected identity theft rings. In addition it requires the existing Identity Theft Coordinating Committee to consult with state and local law enforcement agencies.

    Acquiring the evidence of the fraudulent use of identity currently can be an enormous and time-consuming problem for victims. The Identity Theft Victims Assistance Act makes this job easier by establishing that any business presented with the FTC certificate identifying the person as a victim of identity theft, together with a police report and a government issued photo ID must deliver copies of all the financial records that document the fraud to the victim within 20 days. This is a critically important change from current law because it guarantees that victims will be able to obtain the evidence they need while also providing businesses more certainty that they are not violating someone's privacy or providing sensitive information to the wrong parties. It also provides new liability protections for businesses that make a good faith effort to assist victims of identity theft.

    Of course, the greatest harm to consumers victimized by theft of their identity is often a bad credit rating or a poor credit score that results from fraudulent use of the consumer's identity. According to the FTC, it often takes about a year for people to discover someone is using personal information for fraudulent purposes, allowing significant damage to otherwise stellar credit records. Even after a consumer reports to a credit reporting agency that they have been victimized by identity theft, the consumer often can not get the reporting agencies to block reporting of activities that resulted from the identity theft.

    My bill again requires that presentation of the FTC certificate, police report and photo identification establish that the person is in fact a victim of identity theft and requires credit-reporting agencies to block information that appears on a victim's credit report as a result of the identity theft. It also changes current law that requires individuals to bring suit against a credit reporting agency within two years from the time the agency commits a violation of laws on fair reporting of credit. This makes little sense, since it may be years before a misrepresentation comes to the attention of a victim of identity theft. The bill requires that the statute of limitations begin ticking from the time when a consumer discovers or has reason to know that a misrepresentation by a credit reporting agency has occurred.

    The bill leaves in place state laws that are more stringent and provides that either federal prosecutors or State Attorneys General may enforce this law.

    Jenni and Michael's stories illustrate the unique problems victims of identity theft face. Although penalties exist for identity thieves, no remedies are available for their victims. The scope of the problem is made worse because it's too easy for a criminal to steal someone's identity and cause serious harm before the theft is even discovered. And when these criminals cross state lines, it can be even harder for victims to trace the problem and repair the damage. For these reasons, it's imperative that we pass federal legislation for the victims of identity theft.

    The government, creditors and credit reporting agencies have a shared responsibility to assist identity theft victims mitigate the harm that results from frauds perpetrated in the victim's name. We need to build up the law enforcement network, already started by the Federal Trade Commission and other federal agencies under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998. We need to further improve law enforcement coordination, particularly between the various local and state jurisdictions combating identity theft and the associated crimes.

    We also need to provide better and timelier information to businesses so they can head off fraud before it happens. That is why my bill also expands the jurisdiction of the interagency coordinating committee established under the Internet False Identification Act of 2000. Currently, the coordination committee has the mandate to study and report to Congress on federal investigation and enforcement of identity theft crimes. The Identity Theft Victims Assistance Act broadens the mandate for the coordinating committee to consider state and local enforcement of identity theft law and specifically requires the committee to examine and recommend what assistance the federal government can provide state and local law enforcement agencies to better coordinate in the battle against identity theft.

    Mr. President, there is no doubt about the scope of the problem: identity theft is already a major problem, and it's getting worse. We must provide victims with the tools they need to regain control of their lives. The Identity Theft Victims Assistance of 2003 will help victims of identity theft recover their identity and restore their good credit. I look forward to working with my colleagues to promptly enact this bill into law.

    I ask unanimous consent that the text of the legislation be printed in the Record.