Stopping Identity Theft

In the fall of 1999, Sallie Twentyman received a bill from her credit card company. It listed charges for purchases she never made totaling $9,600 and cash advances she never requested amounting to $2,500. All of these acts had been done in her name by somebody else.

A criminal had stolen Sallie’s renewal credit card from the mail, called the credit card company, and convinced the customer service representative to open more accounts in her name. By mistake, a bill Sallie received was sent to Sallie’s "old" address, not the one the thief had given as a "change of address." Had the company not made that error, Sallie still would never have found out that the other credit cards existed.

It took more than six months to clear up Sallie’s accounts and credit rating. In that time, the thief had opened more accounts in Sallie’s name in other states – even after a fraud alert had been placed with credit bureaus. As Sallie testified before our Senate subcommittee last week, she often found herself fighting alone. She had a difficult time getting businesses to provide her with information about her accounts, waited for months before investigations were launched into her complaints, and felt that no one was held accountable for continuing to aid in the theft of her identity even after companies were notified of potential fraud.

This is only one of many stories. Identity-theft victims expend enormous amounts of time just to reestablish their good names. Many are left with a lingering fear that information about them will still be used to create more debt and ruin their reputations.

Unfortunately, these crimes are not going away. In a year-long study undertaken at my request, the General Accounting Office (GAO) found that complaints of identity theft had risen by 33 percent in 2001. The Social Security Administration reported a 500 percent increase in allegations of Social Security number fraud since 1998.

Along with Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, I have introduced legislation that would clamp down on identity theft. Our bill, the "Identity Theft Prevention Act" will, among other provisions, curtail the public’s access to private information about individuals and fix the fraud-alert reporting system used by credit bureaus. It also would give federal officials the authority to fine merchants for ignoring fraud alerts, and order the Federal Trade Commission to require credit bureaus to investigate discrepancies between a credit card applicant’s address and the records in its files. It would apply to Sallie Twentyman’s case specifically by requiring credit-card companies to notify consumers within 30 days of a change of address request if additional cards are requested on an existing account, and require that those notices be sent to both the former and current addresses.

In addition to further legislation, we must make sure the victims of identity theft realize they are not alone. My Senate web site ( offers information on what to do if your identity is stolen, along with steps to take to reduce the likelihood that you will become a victim. Among the suggestions:

1. Never give out personal information over the telephone.

2. Sign all new credit cards upon receipt.

3. Memorize Social Security numbers and PIN numbers. Do not carry a written

record of them in your wallet or purse.

4. Empty your wallet of extra credit cards or ID’s. Cancel ones that you don’t

use.

5. Guard your ATM personal identification number and ATM receipts.

6. Shred pre-approved credit applications, credit-card receipts, bills, and

financial information you don’t want.

7. Deposit outgoing mail in post office collection boxes. Do not place in your

mail box.

8. If regular bills fail to reach you, call the company and find out why.

Someone may have filed a false change-of-address notice to divert your

information to his address.

9. If your bills include suspicious charges, investigate them immediately.

10. Order your credit report once a year to check for fraud or other

discrepancies. For a small fee, a report is obtainable from the three major

credit bureaus: Equifax 800-685-1111, Experian 800-311-4769, TransUnion 800-916-8800

Sally Twentyman calls identity theft a "cancer." As she told our subcommittee: "Today, as far as I know, I’m in ‘remission,’ but I cannot be sure that I’ll ever be completely cured. The thief is probably still out there, unapprehended, with enough of my personal information in hand to destroy my credit all over again, at any time." It shouldn’t have to be this way. Congress must act to combat this "cancer" before it strikes again.

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