[FEB. 24, 2006]
SPRINGFIELD -- On Thursday, Gov. Rod R.
Blagojevich applauded the Illinois Senate for taking a significant
step forward in the fight to protect Illinoisans from identity theft
and the release of their private information. The Senate unanimously
passed
Senate Bill 2554, which would outlaw "pretexting."
Pretexting is pretending to be an account holder, or to have
authorization to access an account, in order to obtain cell phone
records, long-distance call records, a person's physical location
and other personal records, such as GM OnStar information and any
other account information relating to that person, such as dating
service information or post office boxes.
Blagojevich called for
tough new restrictions on the practice as he announced a series of
new consumer protection proposals in January.
According to the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Illinois
would be among the first states in the nation to fight cell phone
record pretexting.
"It's frightening to know that the private information of cell
phone users all across Illinois is up on the auction block at dozens
of unregulated websites," Blagojevich said. "I commend the Senate
for passing this important piece of legislation and urge the House
to follow suit, so that we can provide the same kind of protection
for cell phone records that is already offered for private financial
information."
According to the Electronic Privacy Information Center, there are
currently dozens of websites practicing cell phone pretexting. In
most cases, these brokers need only a person's cell phone number to
obtain these records. In a demonstration of just how easy it is to
obtain personal cell phone records, in January a blogger was able to
obtain the call history of former presidential candidate and NATO
commander Gen. Wesley Clark in just a few hours for less than $100.
The Illinois legislation against pretexting is sponsored by Sen.
Ira Silverstein, D-Chicago.
"Identity theft is growing while our rights to privacy in this
country are certainly shrinking," Silverstein said. "This
legislation should help move both of those issues respectively to
the middle, hardening the standards on identity theft and providing
more privacy to consumers."
Senate Bill 2554 would make it illegal to use any personal
identification information or personal identification document of
another to portray himself or herself as that person without
permission, for the purpose of gaining access to any personal
identification information or personal identification document of
that person.
The legislation also makes it illegal to use any personal
identification information or personal identification document of
another for the purpose of gaining access to any record of the
actions taken, communications made or received, or other activities
or transactions of that person, without the prior express permission
of that person.
If a person is convicted of this crime, in the absence of proof
of actual damages, the identity theft victim may recover $2,000 in
damages.
The legislation now moves to the House for consideration.
Since Jan. 1, everyone in Illinois has been armed with additional
tools to shield themselves from the risk of identity theft, thanks
to several laws signed by Blagojevich that offer a significantly
wider range of consumer protections. The laws help victims recover
from identity theft more quickly and better protect individuals'
personal information.
Last summer, the governor signed into law several pieces of
legislation that deal with identity theft, including these:
, 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 are helping 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 are helping individuals take steps to
protect their assets and identities before thieves wreak havoc on
their credit.
