Three laws aimed at fighting identity theft take effect today, including one that allows victims in Hawai'i to freeze their consumer credit reports to prevent further exploitation.

They are among new laws that will affect Hawai'i residents in varied ways, from how they drive, to how much taxes they pay to how safe their private information is.

The Internet and the digital age have turned people's bank account numbers, birth dates and Social Security numbers into prizes for thieves adept at turning such information into instant credit at the expense of unsuspecting victims.

The Federal Trade Commission said ID theft climbed 265 percent from 2001 to 2005. Hawai'i had 810 reported cases in 2005.

"We see hundreds of unsuspecting Hawai'i residents become victims to a wide variety of identity theft crimes," said Stephen Levins, executive director of the state Office of Consumer Protection.

Levins suspects actual numbers are much higher. Many cases go unreported or are reported under other categories, he said.

Further, "there's not really a central database in Hawai'i for all ID theft," Levins said. "The prosecutors might have something, the police departments have something. They may or may not list a credit card theft as an ID theft."

A statewide ID theft task force is, among other things, working on a standard form for reporting the crime.

City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle estimates less than half of all the victims of ID theft actually fill out a theft report. "Maybe they think that nothing will come of it."

That is a misconception, Carlisle said. Since 2000, his office has prosecuted more than 200 ID theft cases. All led to convictions, he said, and 90 percent resulted in jail terms.

He also said the public should report ID theft crimes so that police and other researchers can find trends and patterns.

"The more data they have, the more likely they will be able to find out what happens," he said.

Levins said a new law requires government and businesses to notify people if their confidential personal information is disclosed without authorization. That warns people to act so they aren't victimized, Levins said.

California was the first state to adopt such a law about two to three years ago, Levins said. Now about two-thirds of the states have similar laws, he said.

"Several years ago, it wasn't really publicized that there were these security breaches and the reason for that is prior to California enacting their law, there was no affirmative obligation on the part of businesses to contact persons whose information had been compromised," he said.

Another new law lets victims place a security freeze on their credit reports, Levins said.

A federal law lets consumers put a fraud alert on their credit report. But while a retailer is notified that suspicious activity may have occurred or that someone improperly tried to seek credit, there is no obligation for a business to stop extending credit.

"What a freeze does is essentially stop the bleeding and prevent an identity thief from continuing to exploit your good name. When they go in and try to take out another credit card, they're not going to be able do it because no creditor is going to extend credit unless they can check your credit report."

A third bill taking effect today requires businesses and government to "take reasonable measures" when disposing of records containing personal information.

"It's to ensure that stuff's not just thrown into Dumpsters, which has happened in the past."

Two other laws aimed at tackling ID theft were passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Linda Lingle last year.

One that took effect upon its passage in May makes it a felony to possess someone's confidential information without authorization. It also increases the possible penalty for repeat offenders. Deputy city prosecutor Lori Nishimura said several cases have already been prosecuted using that law.

Another law, set to take effect July 1, 2007, restricts the disclosure of Social Security numbers by businesses or government.

And Nishimura said one priority for her office in the upcoming session of the state Legislature is to encourage stiffer sentencing laws for thieves who prey on the elderly, including ID thieves.

Levins said consumers can do much on their own to prevent ID theft, including being careful about whom they give their personal information to.

"Sometimes you just can't help it — if someone hacks into a government database or business database," he said. "However, if someone asks you for your Social Security number or banking information over the Internet or (the telephone), you can do something about it.

"Never, ever, provide that kind of personal information to someone unless you are the initiator and you know who you're dealing with."

Levins also advised consumers to take advantage of a new federal law that allows them to get free credit reports once a year.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.