Senate Judiciary Committee Approves
Feinstein Legislation to Combat Identity Theft
May 16, 2002

Washington, DC - The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee today approved legislation sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to prohibit the sale or display of social security numbers to the public.

"Identity thieves use Social Security numbers to fraudulently obtain credit cards, access existing financial accounts, commit bank fraud, and to falsely obtain employment and government benefits," Senator Feinstein said. "By reducing public access to Social Security numbers, this legislation will help reduce the number of identity theft crimes."

Allegations of Social Security number fraud have increased by 500% over the past several years from 11,000 in 1998 to 65,000 in 2001. In order to reduce access to Social Security numbers, this bill:

  • Prohibits the sale or display of a Social Security number to the general public without the individual's consent, with exceptions for business-to-business and business-to-government activity;


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  • Requires Social Security numbers to be removed from government checks and drivers' licenses;


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  • Requires the redaction Social Security numbers on key government documents before those documents are released to the public. This provision applies only to documents created after the bill is enacted, and includes death certificates, professional licenses, birth certificates, bankruptcy records, court judgements, and tax liens; and


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  • Gives consumers the right to refuse to give out their Social Security numbers to companies that don't really need it and to enforce their rights under this legislation with a private right of action.

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"This legislation strikes a balance between the need for legitimate business uses of the Social Security number and the need to prevent identity theft." Senator Feinstein said. "From here, the bill goes to the Finance Committee for its approval, and I hope that they will take action on it quickly."

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