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.
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