"Each year, hundreds of unsuspecting Hawaii residents fall prey to a variety of increasingly sophisticated identity theft crimes," said Governor Lingle. "The initiatives we will propose are common sense measures to protect consumers from the fastest growing crime in the nation. I urge everyone to contact their state legislators to support these important proposals that are aimed at protecting all Hawai`i consumers."
The following is a brief summary of the proposals:
Credit Freeze
The "Identity Theft Protection Act of 2006" will protect Hawai`i consumers who are victims of identity theft by allowing victims to place a security freeze on their credit reports. The security freeze will prohibit credit reporting agencies from releasing any information to unauthorized parties without the consumer's expressed consent. This freeze will help prevent identity thieves from continuing to secure credit in a victim's name.
Similar legislation has recently been enacted in 12 states, including California, Texas, Washington, Illinois and Colorado. This initiative was proposed earlier this year by the Lingle-Aiona Administration, but the bill did not pass.
Security Breach Notification
The "Security Breach Notification Act of 2006" will help stem the growing plague of identity theft by requiring that individuals whose personal information has been compromised by an unauthorized security breach be notified of the breach.
Similar legislation has already been enacted in 21 states, including California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas and Washington.
Disposal of Personal Information
The bill protects against unauthorized access or use of the information after it is disposed of and ensures that confidential information, when no longer needed, is destroyed. The "Records Disposal Act of 2006" will protect the people of Hawai`i by requiring that businesses establish security procedures to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of their customers' personal data.
Several states, including Wisconsin, North Carolina and Montana have recently adopted similar statutes.
Social Security Number Protection
The "Social Security Protection Act of 2006" will minimize the abuses associated with the use of a Social Security number by restricting its use as an identifier. The proposal would prohibit in certain circumstances: (1) the communication of Social Security Numbers (SSN) to the general public; (2) the printing of SSNs on an identification card or in mailings to customers; or (3) the transmission of their customers' SSNs to third parties without the customers' written consent.
Several states have either passed similar measures or are contemplating doing so, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Texas.
"Identity theft is a threat to everyone," warned Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Director Mark Recktenwald. "The new initiatives call for added protection and more accountability from businesses and government."
Identity theft is the number one concern among consumers contacting the Federal Trade Commission, and it is the fastest growing crime today. According to the FTC, Hawaii cases of identity theft shot up 188 percent from 2001 to 2004, resulting in millions of dollars of losses to consumers.
According to the Federal Trade Commission's "Identity Theft Victim Complaint Data" for 2004, Hawaii's rate of credit card fraud, phone or utilities fraud, and bank fraud -- as a percentage of all reported identity thefts -- is higher than the national average. In addition, attempted identity theft in Hawaii outpaces the national average.
