Is that really you?

Identity theft, which was hardly known 10 years ago, has claimed 12 million victims in the United States and could strike an additional 1 million this year. That makes I.D. theft one of the nation's fastest rising and most difficult crimes to deal with - for both victims and law-enforcers.

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So Washington is now moving to help consumers deal with it. A Bush administration bill picking up steam in Congress will do for the nation what Georgia and five other states already provide: free credit reports every year for consumers who request them.

This easy access allows people to correct errors, including those that may have occurred from fraudulent use of the consumer's financial information. Changes in the credit law recommended by Treasury Secretary John Snow are similar to proposals in a bipartisan House bill.

Identity theft involves the use of a person's name and other personal information, such as a Social Security number or bank or credit card numbers, to establish credit or buy products.

Victims suddenly find themselves thousands of dollars in debt and their credit ruined. It takes months, or years, to straighten the mess out - a real nightmare.

The legislation also calls for victims of identity theft to be able to set off a nationwide alert on their stolen credit with just one phone call. The administration's proposal increases surveillance by banking regulators to ensure banks and other financial institutions are doing everything they can to prevent identity theft.

There appear to be no differences between the congressional and administration bills that can't be easily resolved. Time is of the essence, not only because Americans need these new credit protections now, but also because even the less encompassing credit protections initiated in 1996 expire at the end of this year - and then there'd be virtually no protections.

--From the Saturday, July 19, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle