Indiana is taking steps to prevent the growing problem of identity theft.
Starting tomorrow two new laws will be put into effect to protect Indiana residents from identity theft.
Public Law 22 and Public Law 36 will make it easier for people to protect themselves and recover from identity theft, according to an Indiana House of Representatives press release.
According to the press release, Public Law 22 will help identity theft victims by restoring credit histories and expanding the legal definition of the identity theft crime to make prosecutions easier.
The definition will now ask for more identifying information to be required by credit card companies. This information will include address, place of employment, employer identification number, and mother's maiden name, according to the Indiana government Web site.
Indianapolis resident Lindy Adams lost her credit card and suffered a loss of $1,000.
"When I discovered my credit card was missing, there had already been close to $10,000 spent by someone else," Adams said.
State Rep. Matt Pierce told the house this law will give the court the power to send a written order to creditors to restore victims' credit.
In 2000, the Federal Trade Commission reported there were between 600,000 to 700,000 victims of identity theft nationally, according to its Web site.
On average, victims spend 175 hours and $808 to clear their names from such crimes, according to the FTC Web site.
Ball State Credit Union's vice president of operations Dave Abernathy, said credit cards and debit cards create the most problems when dealing with identity theft.
"It's a nightmare," Abernathy said. "People don't know what to do and we can only help so much."
Abernathy said through the use of people's computers, thieves, now more than ever, are able to get information that would allow them to steal a person's identity.
The second law PL 36, was designed to target those who are victimized through their computers.
This law will require anyone sending unsolicited commercial e-mails to include a code in the subject line notifying receivers of the information included, according to the Indiana government Web site.
E-mails containing advertisements will now have to include the code "ADV."
E-mails that are adult-oriented will be labeled "ADV: ADLT," according to the Web Site.
The Indiana House of Representatives' press release states if these requests are not honored, recipients will be able to take legal action using the state's deceptive consumer sales laws, which can carry penalties up to $500 per offense.
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