Government To Fix Identity Theft?

Cobb writes "With nearly 50 million identities compromised in the last 6 months, the powers that be are gearing up to fix the problem. 'Prosecutors and privacy experts say that what America needs is a coordinated national strategy. While 15 states require companies to tell consumers if their data has been compromised, there's still no national law.' A new study joins a host of other statistics -- some private, some government-sponsored -- attempting to quantify the size of the ID theft problem. There is no universal agreement on the size of the problem, on the way to count the victims, or even on how to define identity theft."

Comments

It's about time, but it won't help.

[WidescreenFreak]

The issue is gaining momentum, with several bipartisan proposals aimed at restricting the use of Social Security numbers and creating a new cyber-security center. The latest bill would require companies that collect data to tighten controls and tell customers how that information is used.

Good! It's by no means the silver bullet in identity theft, but I really get sick of having companies ask for my SSN when it's none of their goddamned business! Even when I took Sun certifiation exams, the unique identifier that they wanted to use was my SSN! Exactly what business is it of a certification examination center to have my (or anyone's) SSN?

The problem, however, is one that government will never be able to fix - consumer stupidity. It's staggering that people are so shocked when they find out that their identity was stolen, yet they will look at you dumbfounded if you ask them:

* Do you shred all of your mail, bank statement, receipts, and so forth before throwing them away?
* Do you make sure to never purchase from e-mails that you didn't ask for?
* Do you make sure to purchase on-line through secure, HTTPS connections?
* Do you willingly give out information to people on the phone who claim to be from one business or another?

I'm sure that the government will do what it can (even if it further tramples on our individual rights one way or another) but until the general public stops their carelessness with personal information or materials that contain personal information, identity theft will keep going and going just like that damned rabbit.