Foley knows woes of ID theft firsthand

By Times staff writers

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 16, 2000

In the future, perhaps the miracles of Jetson-esque technology -- electronic fingerprints, retina-scanning lasers, elocution distinguishers -- will protect us against those seeking to steal our identities. In the meantime, members of Congress will have to be a sufficient substitute.

Rep. E. Clay Shaw, R-Fort Lauderdale, chairman of the Social Security subcommittee, and Rep. Mark Foley, R-West Palm Beach, joined other congressional members to announce legislation that would protect individuals from identity pilfering caused by the theft or abuse of an individual's Social Security number.

The bill, which will be introduced this week, would prohibit the sale of Social Security numbers by private companies and the government, strengthen penalties for violators and require states to remove Social Security numbers from identification records such as drivers licenses.

Indentity theft is one of the fastest growing financial crimes in the country, victimizing 500,000-700,000 people annually, including Foley, whose Social Security number was stolen about two years ago. The still-at-large thief used Foley's information to apply for a Target credit card and charged $789 in merchandise. Only after three months of phone calls to Target, a collection agency and his credit card company, was Foley able to remove the blemish.

Nation not yet paying attention to election

Wake up America!

A new, nationwide poll shows many American voters do not think it matters who is elected president and are not paying close attention to the campaigns of Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush.

When asked by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press how much thought they had given to the upcoming November election, 46 percent replied "quite a lot." In 1992, 63 percent of the respondents responded with that answer.

- Staff writers Bill Adair, John Balz and Sara Fritz contributed to this column.

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