07/01/2008 GAAS:496:08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version | Email / Share
Gov. Schwarzenegger Reinforces Commitment to Protect Identity Theft Victims by Signing Legislation
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed SB 612 by Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), giving victims of identity theft a better opportunity to obtain justice by allowing identity theft cases to be prosecuted in the county where the victim lives – which is not always the location of where the crime occurs.
“Protecting the personal information of every Californian is very important to me and I am committed to strong laws that safeguard every individual’s privacy and prevent identity theft. This common sense legislation will lead to more prosecutions of this terrible crime and anyone that commits or even thinks of committing identity theft should know that they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Governor Schwarzenegger said.
Current law allows for the prosecution of identity theft in the county where the theft occurred or the county in which information was illegally used, both of which may be hundreds of miles away from the victim’s home. This legislation permits local county prosecutors to pursue a resident’s identity theft case even when the crime may have occurred somewhere else.
To fight against the growing crime of identity theft, Governor Schwarzenegger has held two summits that brought together law enforcement officials, consumer advocacy groups, government officials and industry leaders from across California to focus on ways to fight identity theft and educate people on what they can do to protect themselves from becoming victims.
The Governor’s 2007-08 enacted budget includes more resources to stop identity theft in its tracks including providing the Department of Financial Institutions with 10 new positions to expand bank examinations to include review of Information Technology/E-Banking/Disaster Preparedness. These positions allow the Department to protect the public from the increasing problem of security and financial data breaches that result in identity theft and fraud.
Governor Schwarzenegger has also signed legislation that places tough restrictions on access and disclosure of a person’s personal information, makes it a crime to possess equipment used to produce fake identification cards and imposes penalties on those who attempt to steal a person’s identity over the Internet including banning “phishing” and increasing the penalties of sending “spam.” He has also signed legislation to limit inmates from having access to personal information of private individuals, and other measures to increase privacy protection.
Specifically, the Governor has enacted the following bills into law:
- AB 2886 enacting the Personal Information Trafficking and Mail Theft Prevention Act, making mail theft a misdemeanor offense on the state level.
- AB 2043 extending financial protections, such as temporary debt relief, given to consumer debtors who have been a victim of identity theft to non-consumer debtors. Like consumers, businesses can fall victim to identity theft.
- SB 1390 helping law enforcement agencies spot identity theft trends and more effectively combat the growing crime.
- AB 2985 requiring county welfare departments to request credit checks for foster youth who are 16 or older, and providing referrals to credit counseling organizations if the credit check discloses any negative information.
- AB 2415 requiring wireless home networking equipment manufactures to provide a warning that advises consumers on how to protect their personal information.
- SB 355 which makes the practice of Internet "phishing" a crime in the state of California. "Phishing" is practiced by Internet hackers who use email to hook consumers into giving them personal information such as social security numbers or credit card numbers. This information is then used to defraud consumers.
- SB 802 that prohibits any person who transacts business using debit cards from printing more than the last five digits of debit card on the receipt.
- AB 1278 guarding against the improper disclosure of confidential medical and health information in birth certificates and conforms state birth certificates with the federal birth certificate to ensure that the state meets national health collections data requirements.
- AB 1566 increasing the punishment for stealing the identity of a member of the military who is deployed out of state.
- SB 97 that provides that a person who violates California's anti-spam law by sending unsolicited commercial electronic mail ("spam") has committed a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, imprisonment in a county jail for not more than six months, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
- SB 158 eliminating the requirement that one provide his or her Social Security Number on a power of attorney form and authorizes any party accepting the form to seek identification of the agent.
- SB 460 which expands existing law to prohibit any offender confined in a county facility or any inmate confined in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from employment that provides access to the personal information of private individuals, by making the provisions of law applicable regardless of the commitment offense of the inmate.
- AB 1069 making it a crime to possess deceptive identification document-making devices with the intent that the device(s) will be used to manufacture, alter or authenticate a deceptive identification document, as defined.
Reinforcing California's strong commitment to educating consumers about their rights, responsibilities and the resources that are available to them, Governor Schwarzenegger proclaimed the week of March 2, 2008 to March 8, 2008 as “California Consumer Protection Week” and the month of October 2007 as “Cyber Security Awareness Month.”
More information on how to protect against identity theft can be found on the website of the California Office of Privacy Protection at www.privacy.ca.gov.
