Identity Theft Bill Ready for Approval

Identity Theft Bill Ready for Approval

A new bill is anticipated to become a US federal law which seeks to protect computer users from identity theft. The bill, dubbed as the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act, will append more drastic penalties on personal data theft crimes.


Should the bill be sanctioned, victims of identity theft will be able file a suit against the criminals. The $5,000 minimum damage fines for illegal data access will also be removed. Furthermore, anyone who violates the law and install install spyware or malware on more than ten computers will be charged with a felony case.



The Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act was initially written on 2007 which was supposed to enable increased federal prosecution of identity theft crimes and to allow for restitution to victims of identity theft. Unfortunately, it was never passed by the House of Representatives at that time. Now the bill reemerges in light of the soaring number of cases that involve identity pilfering. It already passed both the House and Senate, and is awaiting for final approval from the President.