PRINTER'S NO. 1921
No. 206 Session of 2002
INTRODUCED BY CORMAN, D. WHITE, ERICKSON, BOSCOLA, COSTA, DENT, EARLL, ORIE, LEMMOND, LOGAN, MOWERY, MURPHY, O'PAKE, RHOADES, ROBBINS, SCARNATI, SCHWARTZ, STOUT, TARTAGLIONE, THOMPSON, C. WILLIAMS, TOMLINSON, WAUGH AND STACK, APRIL 17, 2002
REFERRED TO INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, APRIL 17, 2002
A RESOLUTION 1 Memorializing Congress to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to 2 permit victims of identity theft to bring suit any time 3 within two years of discovery of the fraud. 4 WHEREAS, Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the 5 United States, expanding at a rate of 50% per year; and 6 WHEREAS, Every 79 seconds an identity is stolen; and 7 WHEREAS, Approximately one out of every five Americans or a 8 member of the family has been victimized by identity theft; and 9 WHEREAS, Every year more than 400,000 Americans are robbed of 10 their identities and suffer losses of more than $2 billion; and 11 WHEREAS, More than 1,000 people a day in the United States 12 fall victim to crimes of stolen identity; and 13 WHEREAS, Victims spend anywhere from six months to two years 14 recovering from identity theft; and 15 WHEREAS, On average, victims spend 175 hours and $808 in out- 16 of-pocket expenses to clear their names; and 17 WHEREAS, Experts report that most victims do not realize that
1 a theft has occurred for months or years afterward; and 2 WHEREAS, To protect consumer privacy, the Congress of the 3 United States enacted the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA); and 4 WHEREAS, The FCRA requires all credit reporting agencies to 5 maintain reasonable procedures designed to assure maximum 6 possible accuracy of the information contained in credit 7 reports; and 8 WHEREAS, A private right of action allows injured consumers 9 to recover any actual damages caused by negligent violations and 10 both actual and punitive damages for willful noncompliance; and 11 WHEREAS, The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in TRW, Inc. v. 12 Andrews that the two-year deadline to sue companies which 13 collect or spread bad information begins when the credit agency 14 reports erroneous information and not when the victim discovers 15 the fraud; therefore be it 16 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 17 memorialize Congress to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to 18 permit victims of identity theft to bring suit any time within 19 two years of the victim's discovery of the fraud; and be it 20 further 21 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 22 the President of the United States, the presiding officers of 23 each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from 24 Pennsylvania. K30L82MRD/20020S0206R1921 - 2 -