I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3296
To amend various provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act to provide 
relief for victims of identity theft, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 15, 2003
Mr. GERLACH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend various provisions of the Consumer Credit Protec-
tion Act to provide relief for victims of identity theft, 
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prevent Identity Theft 
From Affecting Lives and Livelihoods (PITFALL) Act’’. 
SEC. 2. RELIEF FOR IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS FROM 
CREDITORS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Truth in Lending Act is 
amended by inserting after section 133 (15 U.S.C. 1643) 
the following new section:
‘‘§ 133A. Nonliability of identity theft victims 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If—
‘‘(1) a State maintains a procedure that pro-
vides for the investigation by the chief law enforce-
ment officer of the State, or an official or agency 
designated by the State, of a police report by any 
person alleging identity theft; and 
‘‘(2) the officer, official, or agency issues a no-
fault letter upon completion of the investigation stat-
ing that such person was the victim of identity theft 
with respect to any creditor, 
such person shall not be liable for any credit extended in 
connection with the actions that such officer, official, or 
agency has determined to be involved in the identity theft, 
except as otherwise provided in this section. 
‘‘(b) DUTIES OF CREDITOR.—Upon receiving a copy 
of a no-fault letter described in subsection (a)(2) with re-
spect to any person, the creditor, or any transferee, as-
signee, or agent of the creditor—
‘‘(1) may not attempt to collect any credit ex-
tended in the name of such person which the no-
fault letter identifies as having resulted from iden-
tity theft and shall hold such person harmless for 
the obligation (including any real or personal prop-
erty of such person in which the terms of any con-
tract or agreement involved in the identity theft pur-
port to create a security interest for such credit); 
‘‘(2) may not furnish any information to a con-
sumer reporting agency that identifies such credit as 
an obligation of such person; 
‘‘(3) shall provide a copy of the no-fault letter 
(and such other information as may be appropriate 
to indicate that the person is not liable under this 
section for the obligation) to—
‘‘(A) any consumer reporting agency to 
which the creditor had furnished any such in-
formation before the receipt of a copy of the no-
fault letter; and 
‘‘(B) any office in which any such security 
interest was recorded; 
‘‘(4) may not transfer or assign the credit to 
any other person, including a debt collector (as de-
fined in section 803), unless the creditor clearly 
states that the person in whose name the credit was 
extended is not liable for such obligation under this 
section; 
‘‘(5) shall provide a copy of the no-fault letter 
(and such other information as may be appropriate 
to indicate that the person is not liable under this 
section for the obligation) to any transferee or as-
signee, including a debt collector (as defined in sec-
tion 803), to which the creditor had transferred or 
assigned the obligation before the receipt of the no-
fault letter, or any agent acting on behalf of the 
creditor; 
‘‘(6) shall remove any lien filed against any real 
or personal property of such person to secure the re-
payment of any such credit obligation by such per-
son; and 
‘‘(7) shall comply with any requirement the 
Board and the Federal Trade Commission may 
jointly prescribe under this section. 
‘‘(c) SCOPE OF PROVISION.—The exemptions pro-
vided in section 104 shall not apply to this section. 
‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any 
creditor adversely affected by the determination by the 
chief law enforcement officer of any State, or an official 
or agency designated by the State, that is the basis for 
a no-fault letter described in subsection (a)(2) with respect 
to any person may—
‘‘(1) seek any administrative review of such de-
termination that is available under the law of such 
State; 
‘‘(2) provide such officer, official, or agency 
with additional relevant information and request fur-
ther investigation of the facts and circumstances in-
volved in the alleged identity theft and a de novo re-
view of the prior determination on the basis of any 
relevant information not taken into account in mak-
ing the original determination; or 
‘‘(3) bring an action in any appropriate State 
court in such State to determine the validity of any 
claim by the creditor against such person with re-
spect to any obligation to which the no-fault letter 
applies. 
‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—This section shall cease 
to apply with respect to any credit extended to any person 
as of the earlier of—
‘‘(1) the date that any determination, pursuant 
to an administrative review or redetermination under 
paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (d), that such 
person was not the victim of identity theft becomes 
final; or
‘‘(2) the date any decision of any Federal or 
State court that such person is obligated for such 
credit becomes final. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 
following definitions shall apply: 
‘‘(1) IDENTITY
THEFT.—The term ‘identity 
theft’ means a fraud committed using another per-
son’s identifying information, subject to such further 
definition as the Board and the Federal Trade Com-
mission may prescribe, jointly, by regulation. 
‘‘(2) POLICE REPORT.—The term ‘police report’ 
means a copy of any official valid report filed by a 
person with any appropriate Federal, State, or local 
government law enforcement agency, or any com-
parable official government document that the 
Board and the Federal Trade Commission shall 
jointly prescribe in regulations, that is subject to a 
criminal penalty for false statements.’’. 
(b) STATE
ENFORCEMENT
AUTHORITY.—Section 
130(e) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1640(e)) 
is amended by inserting ‘‘or section 133A’’ after section 
129’’. 
SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF CREDIT AND OTHER INFORMATION 
IN CASES OF IDENTITY THEFT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act is 
amended by inserting after section 605 (15 U.S.C. 1681c) 
the following new section: 
‘‘§ 605A. Treatment of credit and other information in 
cases of identity theft 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If—
‘‘(1) a State maintains a procedure that pro-
vides for the investigation by the chief law enforce-
ment officer of the State, or an official or agency 
designated by the State, of a police report filed by 
any person alleging identity theft; and 
‘‘(2) the officer, official, or agency issues a no-
fault letter upon completion of the investigation stat-
ing that such person was the victim of identity theft, 
no information concerning any transaction involved in the 
identity theft with respect to such person may be included 
or maintained by a consumer reporting agency in any file 
of such person, except as otherwise provided in this section 
or taken into account in connection with preparing or pro-
viding any credit scores or any other risk scores or predic-
tors relating to the person. 
‘‘(b) DUTIES OF CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY.—
Upon receiving a copy of a no-fault letter described in sub-
section (a)(2) with respect to any person, the consumer 
reporting agency—
‘‘(1) shall remove any reference to any informa-
tion described in subsection (a) that is covered by 
the no-fault letter from the file of such person; 
‘‘(2) may not provide any such information to 
any person, whether or not the information is in-
cluded in a consumer report, for any purpose; 
‘‘(3) shall notify any user to which the con-
sumer reporting agency had furnished any such in-
formation before the receipt of a copy of the no-fault 
letter that—
‘‘(A) such information may not be used by 
the user for any purpose; and 
‘‘(B) under section 133A or 910A, the per-
son is not liable for any obligation covered by 
the no-fault letter; 
‘‘(4) shall provide a copy of the no-fault letter 
(and such other information as may be appropriate 
to indicate that the person is not liable under section 
133A or 910A for the obligation) to the furnisher of 
such information to the consumer reporting agency 
(unless the no-fault letter was supplied by the fur-
nisher); and 
‘‘(5) shall comply with any requirement the 
Board and the Federal Trade Commission may 
jointly prescribe under this section. 
‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—This section shall cease 
to apply with respect to any information concerning any 
person that was covered by a no-fault letter described in 
subsection (a) as of the earlier of—
‘‘(1) the date that any determination, pursuant 
to an administrative review or redetermination that 
such person was not the victim of identity theft be-
comes final; or
‘‘(2) the date any decision of any Federal or 
State court that such person is liable on the obliga-
tion to which such information refers becomes final. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section 
(and sections 616, 617, 619, 620, 621, and 624 with re-
spect to information and duties covered by this section), 
the following definitions shall apply: 
‘‘(1) CONSUMER
REPORTING
AGENCY.—The 
term ‘consumer reporting agency’ includes any per-
son which—
‘‘(A) for monetary fees or dues, or on a co-
operative basis, regularly engages in whole or in 
part in the practice of assembling or evaluating 
credit information or other information on any 
person for the purpose of furnishing, to third 
parties, any written, oral, or other communica-
tion of any information by a consumer report-
ing agency bearing on a person’s credit worthi-
ness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, 
general reputation, personal characteristics, or 
mode of living which is used or expected to be 
used or collected in whole or in part for the 
purpose of serving as a factor in establishing 
the person’s eligibility for—
‘‘(i) credit or insurance;
‘‘(ii) employment purposes; or 
‘‘(iii) any other purpose authorized 
under section 604; and 
‘‘(B) uses any means or facility of inter-
state commerce for the purpose of preparing or 
furnishing such reports. 
‘‘(2) IDENTITY
THEFT.—The term ‘identity 
theft’ means a fraud committed using another per-
son’s identifying information, subject to such further 
definition as the Board and the Federal Trade Com-
mission may prescribe, jointly, by regulation. 
‘‘(3) POLICE REPORT.—The term ‘police report’ 
means a copy of any official valid report filed by a 
person with any appropriate Federal, State, or local
government law enforcement agency, or any com-
parable official government document that the 
Board and the Federal Trade Commission shall 
jointly prescribe in regulations, that is subject to a 
criminal penalty for false statements.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
Section 623(a)(1)(A) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)(1)(A)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘relating to any consumer’’ and 
inserting ‘‘relating to any person’’;