EDITORIAL
Tough laws needed to protect our data

As technology tests the limits of how much data can be collected, banked and shared with a few simple keystrokes, an alarming result for consumers has been the rapidly rising number of identity theft cases.

A survey by the Federal Trade Commission named identity fraud as the top consumer complaint last year, and a survey in 2003 found that 9.9 million Americans had their personal data stolen.

Some of the country's largest information brokers reported serious breaches last month. ChoicePoint reported that criminals posing as small businesses accessed the data of about 145,000 people in its database. At least 750 people became fraud victims, and investigators in California say as many as 500,000 customers may have had their data compromised.

Then Lexis Nexis revealed that 32,000 people in the database of its subsidiary Seisnet had their data compromised.

Both ChoicePoint and Seisnet supply data to the U.S. government.

Our ubiquitous Internet culture has broadened the scope of thieves who now spend time "phishing" for account information and personal data through official-looking e-mail inquiries, hoping we'll cough up the information they need to make an easy and illegal buck.

In an encouraging move, Congress recently held a series of hearings on identity theft.

It's good to see lawmakers taking the issues seriously. But hearings aren't enough. Congress must pass a sensible set of bills to beef up our arsenal against identity theft.

One place to start is giving the FTC greater oversight over how our data is collected and sold. That should include steep fines for data breaches.

A strong notification bill would ensure consumers are promptly informed when their data has been compromised, another important component for reform.

And, of course, consumers also must do their part. That means running receipts and unsolicited credit card offers through the shredder; instantly deleting those "official looking" e-mail requests for account information and personally contacting your bank instead; making online buys only through secure and reputable Web sites and routinely checking one's credit report.

Stemming identity theft will take all this and more. The tougher the rules, the more innovative identity thieves become. If we're going to win this battle, Congress and consumers need to be diligent and act swiftly. After all, it's your identity that's at stake.