WASHINGTON-There are a lot of pros to the new economy, there are also a lot of cons. One of the cons-the growth of identity theft-is now being targeted by the Clinton administration for an awareness campaign directed both at state and local law enforcement and citizens at large.
“One mistake, one error in the provision of information and people spend years trying to catch up, trying to set the record straight … Identity theft is a crime with victims. It is not a victimless crime … it is a crime that impacts all of us,” said Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers on Wednesday.
The Secret Service, a unit of the Department of Treasury, will work to educate state and local law enforcement officials on how to identify ID theft. Additionally, the Secret Service will work with private industry to develop computer programs that will make identification happen in real time, Summers told attendees at the National Identity Theft Summit on Wednesday.
Speaking with reporters later, Summers said that there are “tens of thousands or maybe even hundreds of thousands of people who are facing losses each year. It may well be that individuals don’t know that their identity has been tampered with.”
Identity theft may be increasing because of the electronic society that we live in but that is not a reason not to use the Internet for purchases, Summers told reporters.
“That there is a burglary is not a reason to not leave the house. That there is identity theft is not a reason to avoid e-commerce. It is a reason to be careful. This is a case where we have a solution,” he said. Even in a non-electronic environment, he warned that Americans should be careful with their credit card receipts and “obtain an awareness that there are too many dumpster divers” who literally go through the trash and obtain the information necessary to steal identities.
