Identity Theft Passports Could Lessen Personal Damages

A relatively new initiative lurking amongst the various, differentiated state legislation – chiefly, the increasingly ubiquitous breach notification and security freeze statutes – may well provide a step closer to rendering an integral resolution in combating identity theft.

The state of Iowa will likely champion an “Identity Theft Passport” program, as its House of Representatives recently passed a bill, sponsored by Rep. Tom Sands, R-Columbus Junction, which basically proposes that victims of identity theft be issued a card that verifies they have had their identity stolen.

The concept was derived when, subsequent to becoming victimized by identity theft himself, a legislator in Ohio proposed the groundbreaking Identity Theft Verification Passport program aimed to resolve the most galling challenges for identity theft victims. The law came into effect in December 2004.

Nevada, Oklahoma and Virginia also have passport initiatives in action, and said Sands, “A number of states are now considering the identity theft passport concept as the incidence of this crime continues to escalate across the nation.”

The passport initiative – which bears resemblance to proposals pending in Nebraska, Delaware, and Pennsylvania – would help protect individuals against false criminal charges and fraudulent credit charges.

According to the bill, the attorney general, in cooperation with any law enforcement agency, may issue an identity theft passport to a person who, 1) is a victim of identity theft in Iowa and 2) has filed a police report with any law enforcement agency citing that the person is a victim of identity theft. 

Those who are approved for and receive an identity theft passport may present the passport to any of the following:

• A law enforcement agency, to help prevent the victim’s arrest or detention for an offense committed by someone other than the victim who is using the victim’s identity
• A creditor of the victim, to aid in the creditor’s investigation and establishment of whether fraudulent charges were made against accounts in the victim’s name or whether accounts were opened using the victim’s identity
• A consumer reporting agency

It is important to note, however, that it ultimately comes down to the law enforcement agency, creditor, or consumer reporting agency’s discretion in whether or not to accept the identity theft passport after considering the particular circumstances.

Ideally, the program would minimize much of the risk and stress associated with being victimized considerably. However, the mounting need for such a document is unnerving to privacy experts like Ray Everett-Church, for example, who deems that “It shows how dismally bad the system is at coping with the aftermath of identity theft.”

“It’s a sad commentary that we have to issue people a ‘get out of jail’ card because our society can’t figure out how to scrub bogus data from computerized databases.”