Wes Vernon
Friday, June 29, 2001

Today millions of Americans are aware of this outrage, and their concerns are being heard in Congress.

Rep. Clay Shaw Jr., R-Fla., has introduced new legislation that will protect Social Security numbers while combating identity theft, which is also a growing problem.

Shaw's bill "authorizes the Attorney General to issue regulations resricting the sale and purchase of Social Security numbers in the private sector."

His bill also confronts the problem of identity fraud.

"The occurrence of identity fraud against U.S. consumers has increased dramatically in recent years,” says the congressman, adding that it’s the fastest-growing crime in the country, bilking an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 people each year. Broward County, Fla., alone — Shaw’s own backyard — reported identity theft is up a whopping 3,000 percent just this past year.

Shaw says he has bipartisan support for his bill, introduced just before Memorial Day, and is picking up steam. It would restrict the sale and public display of Social Security numbers, provide for enforcement of the provisions, and establish civil and criminal penalties for violations.

In the private sector, the legislation would restrict the sale, purchase, and display of Social Security numbers (SSNs), limit dissemination of Social Security numbers by credit reporting agencies, and make it more difficult for businesses to deny services if a customer refuses to provide his or her Social Security number.

This is not a toothless piece of fist-shaking legislation. It would create new criminal and civil penalties for violations of law relating to the sale, purchase or misuse of the Social Security number. And it would allow federal courts to order defendants to make restitution to the Social Security trust funds or the General Fund of the Treasury for violations of law.

The legislation includes the following: