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By Robert MacMillan
Washtech.com Staff Writer
Thursday, May 16, 2002; 6:17 PM

Identity theft victims could better repair their lives - and damaged credit histories - under legislation approved today by a Senate committee.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved two proposals that would make it easier for people who, even if they prove to credit agencies that they were fraud victims, find that their credit histories could be damaged for years.

The Identity Theft Victims Assistance Act, sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) allows people to claim identity theft two years after discovering the crime, rather than two years after the date of the violation. For proven ID theft victims, the statute of limitations rises to five years.

It also requires businesses, within 20 days of a written request, to provide ID theft victims with information about how their identity was used. Common examples include cell phone records and credit card applications that thieves might obtain with stolen identity documents.

Businesses would not have to provide information or records that they do not already keep, and they would be allowed to refuse giving out records that they think are irrelevant to an ID theft case. ID theft victims could authorize law enforcement to request the documents.

Consumer credit reporting agencies such as Equifax and TRW would have to block information that appears on consumers' credit reports as a result of ID theft, though check authorizations are exempt from this rule.

The bill also calls for more state and local cooperation in nailing ID thieves, and would allow attorneys to sue in state or federal court.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-Calif.) Social Security Number Misuse Prevention Act outlaws - in most cases - the "display, sale or purchase of Social Security numbers."

It carries fines up to $500 or actual monetary damages, whichever is more. The original version of the bill allowed for fines up to $2,500.

Judges also could award three times as many damages for "willful or knowing" violations.

Feinstein's bill also requires that businesses must remove Social Security numbers from some documents before they are released to the public. That section of the bill would be delayed for three years while the Justice Department studies the feasibility of omitting large amounts of Social Security numbers from documents.

The Senate Judiciary Committee made several changes to the Identity Theft Victims Assistance Act and the Social Security Number Misuse Prevention Act to make them easier on businesses to implement.