Topeka — A Johnson County attorney testified that few police departments have the manpower or the expertise to go after identity thieves.
A legislative committee appears ready to crack down on criminals who use someone else's name and Social Security number to pilfer a bank account or exploit a credit rating.
Today, identity theft in Kansas is a misdemeanor that most police departments are ill-prepared to investigate and most county attorneys are slow to prosecute.
"It was made clear to us today that we have a toothless law in Kansas," said Rep. Tim Carmody, R-Overland Park, after a Wednesday meeting of the Special Joint Committee on Judiciary.
Committee members were upset after hearing David Porter, a Lawrence computer programmer, recall how in 1994 someone in Los Angeles used his name and Social Security number to lease an apartment and then, after not paying rent for six months, filed bankruptcy.
Porter said he spent the next three years trying to clear his record.
"I tried to buy a car in 1996, but I couldn't get a loan -- not with a bankruptcy on my credit report," Porter said. "I ended up having to lease a car, and I had to pay a substantial security deposit.
"In 1997 I tried to take out a home loan. I got a terse letter back from the bank, turning me down because my record showed I had filed bankruptcy. And then when I called to tell them what happened, nobody at the bank would talk to me -- they said they couldn't talk to me because I'd filed bankruptcy. Everywhere I went, I was presumed guilty."
Committee members also heard from Sherry Holvorson, whose ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend used Holvorson's name and Social Security number to qualify for credit cards and open accounts with two shop-at-home television programs.
"She maxed them all out, leaving me with $15,000 in debts in my name," Holvorson, of St. Marys, said.
The woman has since been arrested and charged with identity theft, Holvorson said. A trial is pending.
"Now I have to live the rest of my life knowing there's a lunatic out there who knows who I am and who knows my Social Security number," she said.
Johnson County Dist. Atty. Paul Morrison testified that few police departments have enough manpower and expertise to adequately investigate identity-theft cases.
Given the choice, most police departments will go after armed robbers long before taking on an identity thief, Morrison said, even though the robber may have netted a few hundred dollars and an identity thief can walk away with thousands.
"Frankly, an armed robbery is a much easier case to work," Morrison said, adding that while the robber is likely to go to jail, the thief is not.
Morrison proposed making identity theft a felony that, in most cases, would put the thief in jail for several months.
Sen. Tim Emert, R-Independence, asked Morrison and representatives of Kansas Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall's office to propose needed changes in the state laws.
"Obviously, this is turning into a very critical issue," Emert said.
The proposals will be added to those already submitted by Sen. Stan Clark, R-Oakley, which include:
- Making one free credit report available each year to each person in a credit bureau's database.
- Giving people warning that negative information is being added to their reports.
- Giving people free notice when three or more inquires are made on their credit ratings in a year.
- Making sure the identifying information about the person who's using the credit rating matches the information provided by the original applicant.
- Requiring credit bureaus to resolve stolen-identity disputes within 30 days; penalizing those that don't.
The committee convenes today in Topeka to hear testimony on privacy issues concerning the Internet.
-- Dave Ranney's phone message number is 832-7222. His e-mail is dranney@ljworld.com.
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