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"The day after Christmas, when thousands of Illinoisans deal with
returning presents, finding gift receipts and fighting long lines at
department stores, the last thing on our minds is identity theft,"
Blagojevich said. "Starting Jan. 1, Illinois residents will have
laws in place that will help better protect them against identity
theft, which is the fastest growing type of crime in the nation."
Last summer, the governor signed into law several pieces of
legislation that deal with identity theft:
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House Bill 1633, which
makes Illinois only the second state in the nation to require
companies to notify Illinois consumers if personal information
is compromised.
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House Bill 1058, which allows
victims of identity theft to freeze their credit reports.
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Senate Bill 123, which
requires the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to phase
in new Conservation ID numbers to replace Social Security
numbers on hunting and fishing licenses.
These new laws will help provide Illinoisans with peace of mind
and protection from the fastest growing crime in the country. Last
year alone, identity thieves cost consumers $550 million. On
average, victims will spend about 600 hours and $1,500 repairing
their credit. These laws will help individuals take steps to protect
their assets and identities before thieves wreak havoc on their
credit.
House Bill 1633 is the result of the governor and Attorney
General Lisa Madigan working very closely with the Illinois Public
Interest Research Group and state legislators to create the Personal
Information Protection Act. Sponsored by Rep. John Fritchey,
D-Chicago, and Sen. Ira Silverstein, D-Chicago, the new law requires
any entity that collects personal data to notify without delay any
consumers affected by a breach in security. The legislation came in
response to an October 2004 incident in which Georgia-based
ChoicePoint sold the personal information of more than 145,000
people, including 5,000 Illinoisans, to identity thieves who
pretended to be legitimate businesses. Even though officials at
ChoicePoint were aware of the breach, consumers weren't notified of
the situation until months later, when officials, prompted by an
existing California law requiring the disclosure of any security
breach that puts Californians' personal information at risk,
revealed the information.
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House Bill 1058, sponsored by Rep. Marlow Colvin, D-Chicago, and
Sen. Mattie Hunter, D-Chicago, allows people who have been victims
of identity theft to place a security freeze on their credit report,
preventing the release of the report to any party without their
consent. This law also acts to prevent a thief from opening
additional credit card accounts with the person's information and
from changing crucial information in the credit report -- such as a
person's name, date of birth, Social Security number or address --
without the consumer being notified in writing by the credit
reporting agency within 30 days of the change.
Senate Bill 123, sponsored by Sen. Todd Sieben, R-Geneseo, and
Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, requires the Illinois Department of
Natural Resources to phase in new Conservation ID numbers to replace
Social Security numbers on hunting and fishing licenses as
applicants renew. This change will be a part of the department's new
automated licensing system as it is phased in over the next year.
The law requires the department to keep a record of the Social
Security number on file, although that number will not appear on the
license.
Even after the new laws take effect on Jan. 1, there are steps
everyone should take to protect themselves and their identities from
theft. The Illinois Public Interest Research Group has provided a
series of suggestions for ways to protect personal information, and
therefore, better protect against identity theft:
- Obtain a free credit report and look for and report any
inconsistent information.
- Properly dispose of bills, monthly statements, credit offers
and convenience checks.
- Never give out account numbers or Social Security numbers to
strangers.
- Never write your Social Security number on checks or use as
a password.
- Make sure your full credit card number or expiration date
does not appear on receipts.
- Do not respond to e-mails asking for personal information
(example: bank info update).
[News release from the governor's
office] |
