10:05 AM EST on Tuesday, March 15, 2005

BY DAVID McPHERSON
Journal Staff Writer

Two years ago, it didn't even make the top 25.

But identity theft has been climbing the charts, and now it ranks among the top 10 consumer complaints in Rhode Island, according to Attorney General Patrick Lynch.

Last year, the attorney general's consumer protection unit received calls from 226 Rhode Island residents reporting that they had been the victim of identity theft, making it the 10th most common complaint.

Lynch said he is worried that the number will continue climbing and has been trying to focus public attention on the problem.

"Increasing awareness of identity theft and the terrible toll it exacts on the American public is the vital first step we must take toward decreasing its occurrence," Lynch said at a January summit he convened on the issue.

Identity theft is perpetrated by scam artists who obtain someone's personal information -- such as a Social Security number or bank account number -- and use it to commit fraud.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, Rhode Island ranked 27th in the nation for identity theft in 2003, with 49.9 victims per 100,000 population.

In addition to the complaints received by the attorney general's office, the FTC reported 537 identity theft complaints from Rhode Islanders, with credit card fraud being the most common form.

Lynch has proposed two bills meant to address identity theft. One would require companies that experience a security breach to notify all Rhode Island residents in their databases that their information may have been compromised.

The other bill would allow victims to obtain an identity card from the attorney general's office to help them establish new financial accounts.

Just last week, the attorney general's office reported a scam involving a caller claiming to be from Narragansett Electric and demanding credit card information to pay what the caller claimed was an overdue bill.

Lynch's office recommends that anyone who may have been the target of identity theft take several steps immediately.

First: Contact the fraud department of the three major credit bureaus (TransUnion, (800) 680-7289; Equifax, (800) 525-6285; and Experian, (888) 397-3742).

Second: Contact individual creditors, including credit card companies, banks and utilities.

Third: Contact the local police department and obtain a copy of the police report in the event creditors require proof of the crime.

For more information, call the Consumer Protection Unit of the Attorney General's Office at 274-4400 or the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-438-4338.