§ 6-48-3. Legislative findings.
The general assembly finds and declares that:
(a) Identity theft is a growing menace for consumers in the new economy, as vast quantities
of sensitive, personal information has become vulnerable to criminal interception
and misuse;
(b) Identity theft has become a major law enforcement challenge;
(c) An integral part of many identity thefts involves the interception of personal financial
data, the fraudulent acquisition of credit cards or other financial products in another
person's name;
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§ 6-48-3. Legislative findings.
The general assembly finds and declares that:
(a) Identity theft is a growing menace for consumers in the new economy, as vast quantities
of sensitive, personal information has become vulnerable to criminal interception
and misuse;
(b) Identity theft has become a major law enforcement challenge;
(c) An integral part of many identity thefts involves the interception of personal financial
data, the fraudulent acquisition of credit cards or other financial products in another
person's name;
(d) Identity theft is an act that violates the privacy of our citizens, ruins their good
names and may subject them to restricted access to credit, diminished employment opportunities,
and months or years of effort to repair damage to credit histories;
(e) Social security numbers are frequently used as identification numbers in many computer
files, giving access to information an individual may want kept private, making it
[is] wise to limit access to an individual's social security number whenever possible;
and
(f) It is therefore a valid public purpose for the Rhode Island general assembly to ensure
that the private financial information and social security numbers of the citizens
of the state of Rhode Island are less accessible, in order to mitigate the potential
for more identity theft to occur.