LANSING - State Representative Robert Dean (D-Grand Rapids) today voted for a plan in the Michigan House that aims to help better protect Michigan residents from the fast-growing crime of identity theft and enable victims to obtain compensation when they spend thousands of dollars to get their lives back in order and restore their credit history.
"Once you become a victim of identity theft, you risk losing thousands of dollars of your own money, spending hours in court, and undergoing an extreme amount of stress," said Dean, a lead sponsor of the plan. "With identity theft spreading across Michigan like wildfire, we need to take quick action to help consumers protect their personal information. This plan gives consumers the power to put their personal identities under lock and key."
Identity theft has surpassed drug trafficking as the No. 1 crime in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The total cost of identity theft in the U.S. in 2006 was $49 billion. Victims paid about $4.5 billion of this, and the rest was paid by merchants and financial institutions. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, about 10 million people are harmed by identity theft each year.
The key parts of the plan that passed the House today will:
Allow victims of identity theft to file civil suits to be compensated for the money spent to repair their financial affairs and credit history, and require courts to order restitution for victims.
Require businesses to have an identity theft prevention plan; failure to do so would result in a fine of up to $10,000.
Require any data that includes unencrypted personal information to be destroyed when it is removed from the database of a business or agency. Dean sponsored this part of the plan.
"Destroying personal data after it has been used by a business or agency adds another level of protection for consumers," Dean said. "This plan gives our residents the tools they need to protect their identities. I urge the Senate to quickly approve this important consumer protection measure."