Utah Legislature: Utah looks to lock up kids' identities

SALT LAKE CITY — Call it another example of the law of unintended consequences.

As a state, Utah has done such a good job of making it harder for thieves to steal adults' identities that criminals have shifted tactics and are now going after the identities of children instead, some of them before the victims are even born.

Now a state legislator and the Utah Attorney General's Office are looking to lock up kids' Social Security numbers in an effort to protect "the most vulnerable and most targeted victims of identity theft."

HB387, sponsored by Rep. Eric Hutchings, will add resources to the state's successful IRIS Web site to help parents protect their child's Social Security number from unauthorized use or disclosure. The Republican from Kearns said the proposed legislation is a proactive approach to a growing problem.

"As soon as you get shot, then the police come. As soon as your identity gets stolen, then the A.G.'s office shows up," Hutchings said Wednesday. "This is a great chance for us to go way ahead of the crime."

The impetus for HB387 came three years ago when Hutchings' youngest child was born. Hospital staff brought in a slew of paperwork, including an application for a Social Security number for the child. Hutchings said he scoured the form for a box he could check that would prevent the infant's number from being hijacked. He couldn't find one.

"You have to create (a Social Security number)," Hutchings said. "You have to put it out there and make your child vulnerable and there's nothing you can do about it."

Brooklyn Roush was 4 years old when her parents learned their daughter's identity had been stolen. That's when Roush's father lost his job and tried to enroll his daughter in the state Child Health Insurance Program, according to Ronald Mortensen with the Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration. Roush's application was denied, Mortensen said, because a check of her Social Security number showed she was employed and earning roughly $40,000 a year.

Five years later the girl said her family is still trying to undo the damage that's been done.

"I think it's not very nice that people are ruining kids' futures," the 9-year-old said during a news conference at the Capitol. "It makes me really sad that people do that."

HB387 has been redrafted six times and remains mired in the House, Hutchings said. He doesn't expect it to pass before the legislative session ends Thursday at midnight. Shurtleff, however, said Wednesday that his office will still make the improvements to the IRIS site that are called for in Hutchings' bill, regardless of whether or not it passes.

The IRIS Web site — www.idtheft.utah.gov — was launched in June 2006. Shurtleff said it has helped more than 2,400 victims and handled more than 3,300 complaints since its inception.

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