4 'common sense' laws against ID theft proposed
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Honolulu police Lt. Jeff Richards speaks from experience as a victim of identity theft and as an investigator who believes tougher laws are needed to fight this fast-growing crime.
Richards and prominent attorney Bill McCorriston are high-profile victims who have had their personal information stolen, allowing the thieves to charge purchases and get cash. They joined Gov. Linda Lingle and various law enforcement officials yesterday in calling for four new laws to help fight this form of fraud.
Lingle called the proposals "common-sense measures to protect consumers from the fastest-growing crime in the nation."
In June, Richards was on a Mainland trip when someone stole checks from his mailbox and quickly ran up $2,200 in bills.
At the time, he was overseeing the financial fraud unit and knew that the crime is becoming more common, having dealt with it twice in two years himself.
Even with his expertise, Richards found the experience frustrating and figures it must be doubly discouraging for people who are more easily intimidated by bureaucracies.
"It took me about four months to get it cleared up," he said.
According to Federal Trade Commission numbers, Hawai'i ranks fifth in the nation in fraud complaints and 33rd in prevalence of identity theft — the term for someone using your personal information such as your name, Social Security number, credit card number or other identifying information, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes.
State Commerce and Consumer Affairs Director Mark Recktenwald said the state also will run a public-awareness campaign along the theme: "Don't let bad things happen to your good name."
Recktenwald said similar laws have been passed in 12 states. He said he hopes the increase in cases will help persuade lawmakers to pass something next session that they did not support this year.
Lingle spoke about safeguards needed during this busy holiday spending season. She said she especially worries that the elderly will fall victim to scams and lose their life savings.
The four proposals:
Attorney McCorriston noted that he has the resources to persevere where others might tire of struggling to clear their good credit. He said his troubles started when someone burglarized his office and stole his passport and other documents.
"It can happen to anyone," McCorriston said. And he said much of his trouble after the theft was prompted by his Social Security number being linked to a crime.
Once the federal government issues a Social Security number, it stays with that individual, he said.
"They won't give you a new number. The number you get is your number for life," he said.
Richards now cautions people about the importance of shredding. He said investigators have found that some thieves who go through people's trash will take time to piece together financial information.
He said the problem has emerged more with crystal methamphetamine, or ice, users, who will stay up for days or weeks without sleep and become engrossed in taping together shredded paper to find the personal information that was supposed to have been destroyed.
"It'd drive me nuts but not them," Richards said.
And that's why he recommends that people shred potentially sensitive financial information with a cross-cut shredder.
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Correction: Hawai'i ranks fifth in the nation for prevalence of fraud complaints and 33rd in the nation for ID theft, according to the Federal Trade Commission. A previous version of this story contained different information.
