09.23.03

Cantwell Advances Provision to Protect Victims of Identity Theft

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell is one step closer to keeping her promise to protect victims of identity theft. Today U.S. Senate Banking Committee passed the Fair Credit Reporting Reauthorization Act, which carries Cantwell's exact language that would spare victims' credit ratings from fraudulent transactions that are a result of identity theft.

"Victims of identity theft experience unending frustration trying to restore their credit ratings. I am working to protect victims by making that process easier to manage," Cantwell stated. "Identity theft victims often feel like they are victims twice – once when their identity is stolen and again when they struggle to cut all of the red tape trying to clear their good names."

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the average victim spends 175 hours to clear his or her credit records.

Cantwell's provision will ensure that people victimized by having their identity stolen are able to protect their credit rating from further damage by requiring credit reporting agencies to block information on fraudulent transactions resulting from identity theft. The provision will ensure that, with one phone call, consumers can have certainty that the bad information on their credit records will be blocked by credit reporting agencies and it will remain blocked while providing consumers a chance to demonstrate that the transaction is the result of fraud.

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 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.

The U.S. Secret Service has estimated that consumers nationwide lose $745 million to identity theft each year. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that identity theft costs the average victim $1,000.

Cantwell's original bill, The Identity Theft Victims Assistance Act, passed the Senate by unanimous consent in the 107th Congress, but was never brought to a vote in the House.

The U.S. Senate is expected to pass the Fair Credit Reporting Reauthorization Act in October. The U.S. House of Representatives passed similar reauthorizing legislation in September.