Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger gave opening remarks at his administration's second annual summit on identity theft solutions. In attendance were more than 1,000 representatives of law enforcement, the financial services industry, consumer groups and state and local government participating in education and training forums to fight the growing crime of identity theft.

"The effects of identity theft can be devastating and take years to recover from. The cost of identity theft impacts individuals, businesses and the economy -- fighting it will take a team effort," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "I am pleased to see the variety of stakeholders coming together to provide leadership and make progress in the fight against identity theft."

Nearly 10 million people in the United States are victims of identity theft each year - more than one million of them are Californians. In 2005, this crime cost businesses and financial institutions more than $57 million nationwide.

Last year, Governor Schwarzenegger signed legislation to fight identity theft, including banning "phishing," increasing the penalties of sending "spam" and banning the use of equipment used to make fake documents. He also signed legislation to limit inmates from having access to personal information of private individuals, and other measures to increase privacy protection.

The Governor also increased the budget for the California Office of Privacy Protection (COPP) by $446,000 to help protect against identity theft, including education and outreach efforts to consumers and organizations throughout California.
The first Identity Theft Summit was held in Sacramento in 2005.