WASHINGTON, SEPT. 28, 2004 -"Identity theft is an ever-increasing problem, with the Federal Trade Commission reporting that over 10 million people were victims of identity theft between September 2002 and September 2003," stated Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Chairman of the Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection Subcommittee. "These thefts cost businesses $48 billion and consumers $5 billion."
The subcommittee today considered H.R. 2971, the Social Security Privacy and Identity Theft Act. Commissioner Thomas B. Leary of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) noted, "Social Security numbers play a pivotal role in identity theft. Identity thieves use the Social Security number as a key to access the financial benefits available to victims. Preventing identity thieves from obtaining Social Security numbers will help to protect consumers from this pernicious crime."
Barbara D. Bovbjerg testified for the General Accounting Office, "The growth in the use of Social Security numbers is important to individual Social Security number holders because these numbers, along with names and birth certificates, are among the three personal identifiers most often sought by identity thieves."
"The use of Social Security numbers is important to both the private and public sectors," said Stearns. "Businesses use them to because it helps them determine a person's identity in order to provide them with their services. Federal, state, and county governments rely on these numbers to manage records and verify benefit eligibility. The challenge is to improve protection of these numbers while not hampering their legitimate use."
H.R. 2971 would restrict the sale, purchase and display of social security numbers in the public and private sectors; provide additional measures to protect privacy; help ensure numbers are assigned accurately; and create criminal and civil monetary penalties for persons who misuse these numbers. It also would make it an unfair or deceptive practice for any person to refuse to do business with an individual who will not consent to provide their social security number.
Concluded Stearns, "This review of H.R. 2971 enabled us to look at the broader issues of identity theft using Social Security numbers and ways to protect these numbers. I encourage the Committee to take further action on this bill, as well as a more comprehensive approach to combating identity theft and protecting personal information."
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