The Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2000 seeks to make it harder for someone to steal an individual's identity by imposing additional duties on credit issuers and credit bureaus to ensure the accuracy of information in credit applications, and by creating civil penalties for criminals who misuse social security numbers to commit identity fraud. The bill also facilitates the process for victims who are trying to deal with the aftermath of the crime.
"Having an imposter take over your identity is an egregious invasion of privacy. What's worse, the damage to one's good credit may take months or even years to repair. Protecting the personal information of Americans is more important than ever. And as people increasingly rely on credit cards for electronic commerce and daily business transactions, we need to lay down the law to stop unscrupulous individuals dead in their tracks," Grassley said.
require credit card companies to notify consumers when an additional credit card is requested on an existing account within 30 days of a change of address and to send a confirmation of a change of address to the former and new address of the cardholder;
impose penalties for credit issuers and credit reporting agencies who ignore a "Fraud Alert," which is placed on file when a consumer reports identity fraud;
beef up creditors' efforts to verify the identity of credit applicants;
give consumers better access to their personal credit information compiled byindividual reference services and entitle every citizen to a free credit report annually upon request;
make credit header information, which includes Social Security and unlisted telephone numbers, subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act;
create civil penalties for the misuse of Social Security numbers; and,
direct the private sector or the FTC to create a model form for individuals to fill out once they have discovered they are victims of identity theft.
Grassley also is developing legislation to provide further consumer protections for Social Security numbers.