Obama’s Economic Reforms Likely To Affect ID Fraud

Wed, Jan 14, 2009 at 11:00:00 am PDT

On January 20, 2009, America will change.  A new president will be sworn in, a Congress with a fortified Democratic majority will be in power and now President-elect Barack Obama will likely sign into law some very significant economic reforms within the first ten days of taking office.

Candidate Obama spoke often and eloquently about the dichotomy between Main Street and Wall Street, telling America that, while average Americans were responsible to some degree, Wall Street was largely to blame for our current economic downturn.  Corporate America, he argued, took advantage of the Little Guy.

The solution, he argued?  More government intervention.

As a result, many of the financial reforms for which he’ll soon be responsible will be under the umbrella of consumer protection laws.  Consumer protections laws include those pertaining to identity theft, of course, and there are likely to be significant changes about which you should be aware.

First, Obama is likely to enact reforms that will require an increasingly foreign language- speaking population to be able to access all its paperwork (home loan documentation and especially release/consent forms) in its varying languages of origin.  Since some have little idea about those documents they are signing, they are particularly susceptible to identity fraud.  Moreover, because of the language hurdles they face, those who do ultimately get affected have a harder time addressing the issue.  Sending the requisite letters detailing the problem and contacting the requisite bank and other authorities informing them of a compromised identity takes not only time but also English language skills.  The longer the delay, the more damage can be done.  Access to information in foreign languages will be key.

Second, privacy rights may tighten.  Among the chief complaints lodged by the privacy lobby, one which has historically thought to be allied with those trying to reduce identity fraud, is that information is too easily accessible, particularly now with the advent of the internet.  Obama’s reforms may include having the government force private companies and government agencies meet higher and harder standards of online (and physical) safety so as to prevent hacking and other unauthorized access of one’s financial records.  Right now, intensely personal records detailing one’s income, payment history (of credit cards, mortgages and more) are fairly easily accessible.  Incredulously, employees of banks and other financial institutions function mostly on the Honor System.  Stealing and selling one’s social security number, for example, would be quite easy for your average teller.  And with economic times as rough as they are, it’s not inconceivable that someone would resort to such a thing.

Eager to bring about massive, rapid change, President-elect Obama will likely soon sign into law major economic reforms due to the downward spiral we are currently facing.  Some of the changes that will probably be enacted will affect your ability to protect your identity from an opportunistic identity thief.  Stay tuned as the Obama Administration assumes power in a matter of days.  How you do business with banks and credit cards may change substantially.