New Jersey Acting Gov. Richard Codey has signed a sweeping set of anti-identity theft laws that permit consumers to freeze their credit and require companies to shred documents with Social Security numbers. The package also allows consumers to file identity theft reports at their local police station.
At a news conference with supporters of the legislation, Codey said identity theft is "becoming a serious threat to one's good name." According to the Federal Trade Commission, 218,000 New Jerseyans fell victim in 2004 to identity theft, which can range from fraudulently obtaining credit card numbers to falsely assuming another person's identity to obtain a mortgage or other credit.
Previously, it was unclear which New Jersey law enforcement agency held jurisdiction in suspected cases of identity theft because the crime crossed municipal and state lines.
Because of jurisdictional issues and the difficulty of recouping any identity theft losses -- victims typically spend 600 hours and thousands of dollars doing so, Codey said -- many consumers simply accepted the loss rather than fight it.
In addition to the legal reporting, the Identity Theft Prevention Act also:
• Allows residents to place and lift the credit freeze using a personal identification number;
• Increases reporting requirements by companies in the event of stolen, lost or compromised personall data;
• Limits the use of Social Security numbers for identification purposes and curtail public display of the identifiers;
• Requires businesses to shred personal documents as soon as they are no longer needed.
"This will be a hallmark for other states," said Marilyn Askin, president of the New Jersey chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons. "Companies will be held accountable for protecting the privacy of their customers."
