LANSING – In a move to help safeguard Michigan residents from identity theft, the Michigan House of Representatives today passed a plan sponsored by State Representative Marc Corriveau (D-Northville) to toughen penalties for identity thieves and strengthen consumer protections for victims.
"Identity theft has plagued Michigan's hard-working men and women for far too long," said Corriveau, a member of the House Judiciary Committee. "This plan will protect our residents from con artists who rack up tens of thousands of dollars in bogus charges, leaving victims with a ravaged credit standing that can take years to repair."
Corriveau's plan will prohibit an individual from using another person's personal information to mislead law enforcement officials or courts regarding an individual under investigation. The plan passed today also will:
- Force identity thieves to compensate victims for damage done to their financial affairs and credit history, and require courts to order restitution for victims.
- Require businesses to have a written identity theft prevention plan to protect consumers.
- Protect customers' personal information by requiring that any data that includes unencrypted or unredacted information be destroyed when it is removed from a business or agency database.
- Create the Identity Theft Commission, a group within the Michigan Department of Information Technology that will study new and evolving ways to prevent identity theft.
Identity theft is the fastest growing type of fraud in the country. In 2008, about 9.9 million Americans reported
being victims of identity theft – a 22 percent increase from 2007, according to the U.S. Congressional Research
Service. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), identity theft costs consumers about
$50 billion each year.
"Michigan's current laws are simply not strong enough to stop today's tech-savvy criminal who can steal a person's identity with just the click of a mouse," Corriveau said. "I commend my colleagues for working together to create stiffer penalties for identity thieves and stronger consumer protections for Michigan's residents."