California Identity Theft
By Rick Hazeltine
Staff Editorial Writer
In California it's possible to ocean surf and snow ski in the mountains all in the same day. So it's no wonder California is annually among the states with the largest population growth.
But the population isn't the only thing that's growing in the state. So is the crime of identity theft.
California identity theft complaints ranked No. 2 in the nation for 2008 according to the annual Federal Trade Commission survey. There were 51,140 California identity theft complaints in 2008.
Fortunately for citizens, the state has taken a serious approach to California identity theft. Here are some of the resources available to citizens if they think they have been a victim of identity theft.
- California is the first state in the nation to have an agency dedicated to promoting and protecting the privacy rights of consumers. The Office of Privacy Protection began operating in 2001. Among its goals is assisting individuals with identity theft and other privacy-related concerns. For more information contact California Office of Privacy Protection.
- California Penal Code section 530.5 makes it a felony to use the "personal identifying information of another person without the authorization of that person for any unlawful purpose including to obtain credit goods, services or medial information."
- California also requires businesses and government agencies to notify consumers if hackers violate computers with unencrypted personal information, such as credit card numbers, pass codes needed for personal accounts, Social Security or driver's license numbers. Consumers must be given notice immediately after a discovery of a privacy breach. The only exception is if a law enforcement agency determines the notice would impede a criminal investigation.
- To fight California identity theft, the state has five regional Hi-Tech Crimes Task Forces. The Attorney General's office also oversees the statewide Identity Theft Registry, which assists identity theft victims who are wrongfully identified as criminals. The registry allows law enforcement throughout the state to access the database of victims of identity theft who are wrongly linked to crimes.
- It is bad enough to have your identity stolen, but that experience can be compounded if the identity thief uses your identity to commit a crime. Because of the state's problem with illegal immigration, stolen identities are sold to create new identities for those not in the country legally. Some of these individuals commit crimes in your name. This can happen if a thief is cited or arrested for a crime and uses your name for police records; the thief is charged and prosecuted in your name so your name appears in court records. To learn more about the Registry Application Process visit California Office of the Attorney General.
- Although California identity theft victims can be found throughout the state, the cities with the most complaints are Los Angeles with nearly twice as many complaints as the No. 2 city - San Diego. Third is San Francisco, followed by Sacramento and San Jose.
