HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 57

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2010

INTRODUCED BY

William "Bill" R. Rehm

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO REQUIRE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND CREDITORS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A WRITTEN IDENTITY THEFT PROGRAM TO IDENTIFY, DETECT AND CORRECT THE DAMAGE CAUSED TO VICTIMS OF IDENTITY THEFT AND TO REQUIRE THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION TO PROMULGATE NEW RULES ALLOWING VICTIMS OF IDENTITY THEFT TO OBTAIN A NEW SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER AND TRANSFER ALL EXISTING BENEFITS TO THE NEW MEMBER.

     WHEREAS, identity theft is on the rise, increasing twenty-two percent from 2007 and affecting almost ten million victims in 2008; and

     WHEREAS, one in every ten United States consumers has already been victimized by identity theft; and

     WHEREAS, victims of identity theft must usually spend between five hundred dollars ($500) and one thousand dollars ($1,000) out of pocket to correct the damage from identity theft; and

     WHEREAS, a victim of identity theft must usually spend more than six hundred hours of time to correct the damage from identity theft and can take up to five thousand eight hundred forty hours to correct the damage from identity theft, which is the equivalent of working a full-time job for two years; and

      WHEREAS, stolen wallets and physical documents account for forty-three percent of all identity theft, while on-line methods of identity theft account for only eleven percent; and

     WHEREAS, victims of identity theft must contact multiple agencies to resolve the fraud, which include financial institutions, credit bureaus, law enforcement, debt collectors, identity theft assistant services and the federal trade commission; and

     WHEREAS, the social security administration does not, in most cases, provide assistance to identity theft victims; and

     WHEREAS, the social security administration only assigns a new social security number because of significant misuse, and only then will a special indicator be placed on the social security number;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the United States congress be requested to require financial institutions, creditors and lenders to develop and implement a written identity theft program to identify, detect and correct the damage caused to victims of identity theft and to require the social security administration to promulgate new rules allowing victims of identify theft to obtain a new social security number and transfer all existing benefits to the new number; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the president pro tempore of the United States senate, the speaker of the United States house of representatives, the New Mexico congressional delegation and the commissioner of social security.

- 3 -