House Passes Identity Theft and Restitution Act! But Will the President Sign It?

The Senate and House of Representatives have passed the Identity Theft and Restitution Act. This bill offers more flexibility to identity theft victims, such as allowing them to seek restitution for indirect losses like time and money spent rebuilding credit. Currently, the identity theft victim is only compensated for direct losses (charges on a credit card or money taken from a bank account).

The other provisions are more computer related and refer specifically to cyber crimes, particularly those that result in identity theft. For example, it enables prosecution of those who steal personal information from a computer when the victim's computer is in the same state as the identity thief's computer (now there can only be prosecution when the thief uses interstate communication). There are other provisions involving the use of keyloggers and damage to a victim's computer.

The Senate and House have already passed it, and it awaits President Bush's signature. While this bill has some good provisions to help identity theft victims recover and law enforcement punish thieves, this will not necessarily slow down the rate of ID theft much. After all, many identity theft crimes are not reported, and most identity thieves are never caught. Punishment will not deter a crime if the thief knows he is not likely to get caught.