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Washington
–
Today,
U.S.
Senator
Tim
Scott
(R-SC)
and
a
bipartisan
group
of
cosponsors
introduced
the
Protecting
Children
From
Identity
Theft
Act,
legislation
that
will
help
prevent
children’s
identity
being
stolen
by
a
type
of
theft
known
as
“synthetic
ID
fraud.”
A
recent
study
found
that
one
in
every
ten
children
had
their
Social
Security
Number
(SSN)
used
by
someone
else
to
fraudulently
open
bank
accounts
or
credit
card
accounts,
negatively
impacting
a
child’s
credit
before
they
even
become
adults.
Original
cosponsors
of
the
bill
include
Senators
Bill
Cassidy
(R-LA),
Claire
McCaskill
(D-MO),
and
Gary
Peters
(D-MI).
“It
is
simply
inconceivable
that
a
criminal
would
seek
to
exploit
a
child’s
identity
and
personal
information
for
their
own
financial
gain,
and
we
must
look
to
utilize
all
of
our
resources
to
stop
these
crimes
from
continuing
to
negatively
impact
our
families,”
said
Scott.
“This
upgrade
to
Social
Security
Administration
procedure
is
a
commonsense
and
effective
way
to
cut
down
on
synthetic
ID
fraud
and
help
prevent
millions
of
people
from
having
their
identity
stolen.”
“Some
children
have
their
identities
stolen
before
they
can
even
talk,”
said
Cassidy.
“This
bill
protects
them
and
modernizes
fraud
detection
to
stop
more
people
from
becoming
victims.”
“Scammers
have
left
no
stone
unturned
in
stealing
children’s
Social
Security
numbers
to
open
fraudulent
credit
cards—wrecking
kids’
credit
scores
before
they’ve
even
graduated
high
school,”
said
McCaskill,
a
former
Missouri
State
Auditor.
“When
it
comes
to
protecting
Missourians’
hard-earned
savings,
and
their
identities,
we
need
every
tool
available
to
stop
this
theft.
This
legislation
would
do
just
that—by
bringing
the
Social
Security
Administration
into
the
modern
era
with
better
verification
steps
to
protect
consumers.”
“Lenders
can
and
should
do
more
to
protect
Michigan
children
from
identity
thieves
who
ruin
their
good
names
and
credit
by
taking
out
fraudulent
loans,”
said
Peters.
“This
commonsense,
bipartisan
bill
will
give
lenders
the
tools
they
need
to
verify
identities,
stop
billions
of
dollars
in
losses
from
fraud,
and
put
Michigan
children
on
the
path
to
a
secure
financial
future.”
Scott’s
amendment
aims
to
stop
this
illegal
activity
by
directing
the
Social
Security
Administration
(SSA)
to
accept
electronic
signatures
as
consumer
consent
for
financial
institutions
trying
to
verify
customer
ID
and
root
out
synthetic
ID
fraud.
According
to
a
recent
study,
children’s
identities
were
stolen
at
a
rate
of
about
50
times
more
frequently
than
adults.
Data
showed
that
the
information
was
utilized
by
identity
thieves
to
apply
for
loans,
utility
accounts,
property
accounts,
driver’s
licenses,
and
vehicle
registration.
The
long-term
consequences
can
leave
children
and
families
burdened
with
unintended
debt,
and
a
flawed
credit
history.
Last
month,
this
same
group
of
senators
sent
a
letter
to
SSA’s
Acting
Commissioner
urging
that
the
agency
accept
individuals’
consent
electronically
in
order
to
help
financial
institutions
better
prevent
identity
theft
and
fraud.
The
full
text
of
the
letter
can
be
accessed
here.
The
senators
have
also
asked
Senate
Banking
Committee
Chairman
Mike
Crapo
(R-ID)
for
inclusion
of
this
bill
in
S.
2155,
the
Economic
Growth,
Regulatory
Relief,
and
Consumer
Protection
Act, which
is
being
debated
in
the
Senate
starting
tomorrow.
Overall,
the
problem
with
synthetic
ID
theft
has
become
more
prevalent
and
costlier
over
the
past
few
years.
A
recent
study
predicted
that
financial
losses
attributed
to
synthetic
ID
theft
have
doubled
since
2014,
and
losses
have
been
estimated
at
nearly
$6
billion.
Last
year
in
Rock
Hill,
South
Carolina,
a
man
was
accused
of
submitting
“more
than
750
new
credit
card
applications
to
financial
institutions
via
the
internet
and
by
telephone,
using
synthetic
identity
information,”
a
crime
that
ended
up
costing
$340,000
in
financial
losses.
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