Senator Feinstein Holds Hearing on Identity Theft
– Joins LA County Sheriff Lee Baca to Announce New ID Theft Strike Force –
August 30, 2000

Los Angeles – Joined by victims of identity theft, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca today unveiled the Sheriff’s Department new Identity Theft Strikeforce at a field hearing of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Government Information.

Nationwide, an identity is stolen every 60 seconds. And as many as 700,000 incidents of identity theft will occur this year. The strikeforce will lead investigations into identity theft and train other units on how to deal with the growing problem.

The following are Senator Feinstein’s prepared comments for the hearing:

“I would like to welcome all of you this morning to this field hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Government information. The topic of the hearing is “Local and Federal Responses to Identity Theft.”

In particular, I want to thank Sheriff Baca for joining me in hosting this hearing at the Los Angeles County Sheriff headquarters.

I would also like to thank this impressive roster of witnesses:
• Jeffrey Klurfeld, Director of the Western Regional Office of the FTC;
• Jane Vezeris, Deputy Inspector General, Social Security Administration;
• Michael Ahern, Deputy Chief Inspector of Western Field Operations of the United States Postal Inspection Service;
• And two identity theft victims, Selene Kassin and Mari Frank.

Identity theft, is perhaps, the signature crime of the new economy. Modern technology has made vast amounts of personal information obtainable at the click of a keyboard, leaving our personal information vulnerable to interception and misuse.

Definition of Identity Theft:

What is identity theft? Identity theft occurs when one person uses another person’s Social Security number, birth date, driver’s license number, or other identifying information to obtain credit cards, car loans, phone plans or other services in the victim’s name.

Identity thieves can get personal information in a myriad of ways – stealing wallets and purses containing identification cards, using personal information found on the Internet, stealing mail ( including pre-approved credit offers and credit statements), fraudulently obtaining credit reports or getting personnel records at work.

Identity theft has become a critical law enforcement issue:

• An identity is stolen every 60 seconds. As many as 700,000 incidents of identity theft will occur this year;(source: Privacy Rights Clearinghouse).
• From 1997- 1999, there was a 380% increase in the reporting of Social Security number misuse;
• In a survey of 1000 Americans by Impulse Research of Los Angeles, 42 % of the respondents reported a member of their household had their personal identity or credit-card information stolen.
• Identity theft causes up to $3 billion in losses annually from credit card fraud alone.

Personal Impact of Identity Theft on Victims:

We will hear from two victims today who will describe the havoc to their lives caused by identity theft. Identity theft, unlike other crimes, is an ongoing crime that can last for years.

The typical victim of identity theft:
- Learns about the identity theft 14 months after it has occurred;
- Sustains $18,000 in fraudulent charges;
- and spends 175 hours over two years restoring their clean credit and good name.

Goal of the Hearing today:

Combating identity theft demands a coordinated effort. This hearing will explore how individuals can better protect themselves from fraud, and how the local and Federal governments can help put the clamps on identity theft.

1. The Federal government should make it harder traffic in personally identifiable information;
2. Local law enforcement can increase the prosecution and investigation of identity theft; and
3. Individuals also can take preventive steps to protect themselves from identity thieves.

Federal Legislation:

There are very specific things the Federal government can do to aid in the fight against identity theft.

• Social Security Number bill -

• First, we can cut down on the widespread traffic of the Social Security number.
• Social Security numbers are the prime tool used by identity thieves to capture victims’ personal information and to set-up fraudulent credit card accounts.
• Today, on the Internet, an identity thief can buy another person’s Social Security number for as little as $25 – no questions asked. This is simply wrong.

I have introduced the Social Security Number Protection Act, which is endorsed by the Clinton-Gore Administration. This bill would prohibit the sale of a person’s Social Security Number without their consent, except for a narrow number of circumstances such as law enforcement, national security, or public health purposes.

• Identity Theft Prevention Act -

• I have also introduced, the Identity Theft Prevention Act with my Senate colleagues John Kyl and Charles Grassley. This bill, which is endorsed by the Federal Trade Commission, offers a number of concrete, practical measures to cut-down criminal access to personal information and assist victims.
• For example, identity thieves often intercept bank statement or credit card statements and then redirect the account to another address. This bill would require credit issuers to notify the original card holders at their original address of any address-change requests. Thus, cardholders will know any time a thief is trying to shift the address of his account.
• In addition, the bill would develop standardized forms for victims to report identity theft to banks credit bureaus and retail stores. Right now, identity theft victims typically have to fill out a new fraud report for each store with a fraudulent charge. Creating a standardized form could save many victims hundreds of hours of time of filling out redundant reports.

Local Government:

Sheriff Baca will be talking later in the hearing about the innovative and ground-breaking work of the L.A County Identity Theft Strike Force. I will leave it to Sheriff Baca to describe the program, but I think he has developed a model worth emulating around the country.

Conclusion:

In summary, identity theft is a crime growing at alarming rates that deserves all of our attention. I look forward to hearing the reports and insights of the witnesses.