Wyoming Legislators Working ID Theft Bill
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2006-12-18 12:25:44.808459-05:00
Wyoming legislators are working on an identity theft bill that could help protect people like Bill Bensel of Ranchester.
A man in Miami stole Bensel's identity and used it to purchase jewelry and furs and to withdraw cash. By the time the criminal's initial spending spree was over, he had racked up about $13,000 on two credit cards in Bensel's name—cards for which Bensel never applied. He only learned his identity had been stolen when a credit card company called to verify his identity last May.
Bensel is not being held liable for the illegitimate expenses because he reported the crime to his local sheriff's office, the attorney general, Federal Trade Commission, and the credit companies involved. Even so, his escape from the snares of an identity crime has been frustrating and time-consuming. Resolving the situation has forced him to spend many hours on the phone and filling out paperwork—time that could have been better spent working on his small family farm.
To help Wyoming residents fight back, Sen. Cale Case (R-Lander) and Rep. Colin Simpson (R-Cody) will introduce a bill during the legislative session starting Jan. 9 that would allow people to freeze access to their credit information.
"This is one way for people to try and protect their identity and not allow the release of their credit information," Simpson said, adding that about half the states in the nation currently have more identity theft protection than Wyoming.
In addition to the security freeze, Case said the bill also is aimed at large companies that collect and store records containing their customers' personal information. If those records are stolen or if the security of those records is compromised, known as a security breech, the bill requires the companies to notify their Wyoming customers right away.
It's an obligation that Bensel wishes had been in place when he became the target of an identity thief. Bensel said that his mortgage company delayed telling him about a security breach of their computer system—a breach that likely resulted in his identity being stolen. "They hung my butt out to dry," he said.
Bensel believes his identity and possibly that of many other customers was stolen when computer hardware belonging to his mortgage company was stolen.
The large, national mortgage company has since provided Bensel with a one-year subscription to their expensive Identity Guard system, which monitors changes in his credit report. But they refused to extend the offer to cover his wife whose personal information may have been stolen in the heist as well.
Bensel said he will always have to monitor his credit report to make sure he is not bilked again. "Until my death, this will plague me because they have my personal information," he said.
Consumers should check their bank and credit card statements thoroughly and alert creditors immediately if something odd shows up on their records. Bensel has another crucial tip: "Never give out your Social Security number (except for employment or income reporting purposes)," he said. "Your Social Security card should be in a vault in the bank."
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