Doyle signs bills to help prevent identity theft

March 17, 2006
Janesville Gazette

BROOKFIELD, Wis. - Businesses will have to notify customers if their personal information is stolen and consumers will have greater say over who can get their credit information under legislation the governor signed Thursday to help prevent identity theft.

A third bill also signed Thursday prohibits registers of deeds from listing people's Social Security number on records.
Gov. Jim Doyle said in a statement thieves can use just a tiny amount of information to ruin someone's financial reputation. He said the bills would provide additional protections to prevent that from happening.

Some estimate 10 million Americans a year are victims of identity theft from fraudulent use of a credit card to fraudsters using someone else's name to open lines of credit or obtain government documents.

The bills Doyle signed were:

-Senate Bill 164, requiring businesses to notify customers if someone steals personal information such as driver's license numbers, Social Security numbers, financial data and biometric data, including DNA.

-Assembly Bill 536, which pertains to records kept by a register of deeds. Those records, which are public and must be provided to those that request them, include deeds, mortgages, real estate and certain financial documents.

Doyle said prohibiting those officials from listing Social Security numbers on those documents will "eliminate what is now a reservoir of information for identity thieves."

-Assembly Bill 912, which requires credit reporting agencies to place a "security freeze" on their credit reports for a fee of no more than $10. It allows customers to say when and to whom the information is released.