Originally published February 26 2006
Washington legislators crack down on ID theft
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Legislators in Washington state, which ranks eighth in the nation for identity theft per capita, have proposed several bills that would make identity theft a personal crime (not a property crime), make penalties for identity theft more strict and create preventative measures for the crime.
Washington state ranks among the top 10 states in incidents of identity theft, and continues to climb the list.
The trend has captured the attention of state legislators who have proposed several bills this session that would stiffen penalties for identity theft, add preventive measures and recategorize this rampant white-collar offense from a crime against property to a crime against people.
One legislator leading the charge is Rep. Dan Roach, R-Bonney Lake, who has introduced three bills, one of which is scheduled to get a public hearing Friday.
``During town hall meetings I held last October in Bonney Lake and Auburn, we heard horror stories from victims about how identity thieves had cleaned their accounts,'' said Roach, who represents parts of south King County.
``In one case,'' Roach said, ``a victim was just at the end of working to get her credit restored when her identity was stolen again and used against her to take out loans and credit cards.
Incidents of identity theft increased nearly 14 percent from 2003 to 2004, the sixth-highest increase in the nation, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
There were 5,654 identity theft crimes reported in Washington state in 2004 -- ranking Washington eighth nationally in identity thefts per capita -- compared with 4,741 the year before.
* create a program that would allow banks and financial institutions to share information with law enforcement.
Use a shredder to slice bills, bank statements, credit card receipts, investment updates.
* Write the three major credit bureaus and ask to ``opt out'' of the pre-approved credit lists they sell to companies.
* Contact your card issuer to find out if any of your cardholder information can be given to partners or affiliates (third parties) of the card issuer.
If so, ask for the address to write to cancel this authorization.
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