Once again I find a new internet friend's blog post a real must read for anyone that ever thinks about or worries about, or has been a victim of Identity Theft. Here is a real opportunity to do a bit to help yourself and others. Fraud, Phishing and Financial Misdeeds, a blog by Ted Richardson has come up with a great post about the matter. Entitled, Terminating Identity Theft in California this post has some great news from a corner of politics I have never voted for. That is, Dianne Feinstein (D. CA). She is the second to least favorite politician in the score book I keep in my head. Barbara Boxer is first. However Feinstein has come up with some doozies of laws to combat identity theft and I support her efforts...
Quote - "The Privacy Act - A comprehensive bill that would set a national standard for protecting personal information such as Social Security numbers, driver's licenses, and medical and financial data, including information collected both online and offline. Modeled on California'’s financial privacy law, it requires companies to let consumers “"opt in" before their most sensitive information is shared."
"The Social Security Number Misuse Prevention Act - This bill would regulate the use of Social Security numbers by government agencies and private companies by prohibiting the sale or display of Social Security numbers to the general public, and by requiring Social Security numbers to be taken off of public records published on the Internet."
"The Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act - Modeled on California's database security law, this bill would define as personal data an individual's Social Security number, driver'’s license number, state identification number, bank account number or credit card number; require a business or government entity to notify an individual when it appears that a hacker has obtained unencrypted personal data; levy fines by the FTC of $5,000 per violation or up to $25,000 per day while the violation persists; and allow California's privacy law to remain in effect, but preempt conflicting state laws."
The post also has a list of laws The California Governator is working on and should be coming to a state near you. They can if you bring this to the attention of your local politicians. Please check out this post and put a few minutes work into forwarding the link to your favorite (or least favorite) politician. Let them know that you think this is important. Links for U.S., U.K. and Governor Schwarzenegger's site are in the title and at the bottom of Ted's post.
You might also consider sending the link to all on your email friends. I did and am getting quite a response!
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