Gao 05 710 Identity Theft

GAO-05-710 Identity Theft: Some Outreach Efforts to Promote Awareness of New Consumer Rights Are Under Way

The loss of personally identifiable information, such as an individual's Social Security number, name, and date of birth can result in serious harm, including identity theft. Identity theft, a serious crime that impacts millions of individuals each year, occurs when such information is used without authorization to commit fraud or other crimes. While progress has been made protecting personally identifiable information in the public and private sectors, challenges remain. This testimony summarizes: (1) the problem of identity theft; (2) steps taken at the fed., state, and local level to prevent potential identity theft; and (3) vulnerabilities that remain to protecting personally identifiable information, including in fed. information systems. Illustrations.

Advances in info. tech. make it easier than ever for the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) & other agencies to obtain & process info. about citizens & residents in many ways & for many purposes. The demands of the war on terror also drive agencies to extract as much value as possible from the info. avail. to them, adding to the potential for compromising privacy. Recognizing that securing the homeland & protecting the privacy rights of individuals are both important goals, the author performed several reviews of DHS programs, & their privacy implications over the past several years. For this hearing, the author identified & summarized issues raised in its previous reports on privacy & assessed recent governmentwide privacy guidance.