Self Defense 101: Four Ways Rhode Island Can Empower Consumers And Protect Them From Identity Fraud And Credit Mistakes

Executive Summary

Identity theft is the taking of another's personal information such as social security number, name or date of birthfor the purpose of assuming the victim's identity with the intent to commit fraud. Identity theft is among the nations fastest growing crimes, affecting up to 10 million Americans- and an estimated 12,500 Rhode Islanders-annually.

While Rhode Island has taken some steps to fight identity theft in the past, this report will show that more needs to be done. There are four critical policy steps that Rhode Island should take to immediately fight identity theft.

The four critical steps are:

 Strengthen the states new security breach notice law. The law was intended to improve data security and require consumers to be notified when their personal data is compromised, but the current act is inadequate because, among other reasons, it probably would not have covered the recent data breaches of the RI.gov website.

 Enact a strong security freeze law that gives consumers control over their credit reports and prevents identity theft before it happens, as twelve states have already done.

 Establish consumer-driven credit monitoring by giving consumers the right to obtain up to twelve low-cost credit reports each year.

 Limit the availability of Social Security Numbers, which serve as keys that can unlock a consumers financial identity.