Oelslager is sponsoring Senate Bill 7, a bill that would crack down on identity theft. We are supportive of all efforts to crack down on this type of consumer fraud. Identity thieves steal consumers' personal identifying information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, or mother's maiden name. They then can use this information to tap into the good credit history of the consumer, usually by establishing new accounts in the consumer's name and running up the bills. Consumers often don't know credit identities have been stolen until they learn that new credit card accounts have been set up in their name, or until their bank accounts have already been accessed.
Criminals can obtain personal information much easier than most people believe.
They can do this by raiding mailboxes, rummaging through trash containers, and even high-tech eavesdropping. Additionally, many legitimate businesses share or sell information about their customers without any knowledge about how it will be used or misused. Congress recently passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998, making it a federal crime to knowingly transfer or use another person's means of identification to commit any unlawful activity. The act calls for the Federal Trade Commission to establish procedures within a year to collect complaints from victims of identity theft, provide information to victims, and refer complaints to the appropriate law enforcement and credit authorities. Oelslager's bill, pending in the Ohio Senate, creates the crime of stealing another's identity in Ohio.