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Privacy Experts Laud DOJ ID Theft Grants
The Justice Department on Monday unveiled $1.7 million in funds for national, regional, state and local organizations and agencies that assist victims of identity theft and financial fraud. Read more about it in Technology Daily's PM Edition.
Betsy Broder, who oversees the FTC's ID theft efforts, lauded the grant-giving, told us that she met with and is providing guidance to the handful of groups that got the money. Every year, her agency responds to about 250,000 ID theft victims, she said.
Many consumers are "able to respond quickly and effectively themselves to recover from ID theft" but others aren’t as lucky, Broder noted. The grant program "contributes to the resources available for those consumers who need help" to recover from ID theft.
While certain forms of ID theft do not always have a financial impact, resolving issues can be time consuming and stressful for consumers, added Andy Serwin, a partner at Foley & Lardner who focuses on privacy and security matters.
Justice's focus on prevention is important, he said: "While identity theft can result from actions by third-parties, in many cases consumers themselves create conditions that increase their odds of being a victim of identity theft."
Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, also weighed in. He said the grants will "provide critical assistance to some of the small organizations helping ID theft victims clear their names."
"In the long run, the solution to identity theft is to hold data collectors – banks, stores and government agencies – accountable so that they protect information better in the first place," Mierzwinski said.
Posted by Andrew on December 10, 2007 04:08 PM | Permalink
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