Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personally identifying information, like a person's name, Social Security number, or credit card number or other financial information, without permission, to commit fraud or other crimes.
To date, 32 states have introduced or have pending legislation regarding identity theft during the 2012 legislative sesion. Alabama enacted three bills that created the Alabama Digital Crime Act, amended the definition of dealing in false identification documents and expanded the defintion of identity theft to include using a person's identity to gain employment. Utah lawmakers passed a bill requiring the Department of Workforces Services--if it learns during an eligibility check that a Social Security number is being used by an unauthorized person--to inform law enforcement and the Social Security number's owner. Virginia enacted legislation that requires local departments of social services to conduct annual credit checks on foster children 16 years and older to uncover and resolve cases of identity theft or misuse of personal identifying information.
NCSL Related Webpages:
source: NCSL at http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/banking/identity-theft-2012-legislation.aspx