Paper Shredders Info

Consumers will gain strong new protections when New Jersey's Identity Theft Prevention Act takes effect Jan. 1, but businesses and institutions are facing headaches and added expenses.

Social Security numbers will be out as all-purpose identification numbers, forcing businesses, colleges, unions, insurance companies, police departments and other public agencies to purge files and shred documents.

Those maintaining computer databases will be required to act quickly and publicly in case of security breaches under the new law - among the strongest in the nation.

For a big insurance company, where managing paper has been a core of the business for generations, complying shouldn't be difficult, said Jim Appleton, president of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers in Trenton.

"But for a small business, like a car dealership, it's a major problem, and they're just coming to grips with it now," Appleton said.

"It's just another cost of doing business," he said. "You can get on a soapbox and complain, but in the face of well-documented cases of identity fraud, dealers can recognize the problem."

Even with the added costs and paperwork, the legislation had the backing of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, said Kim Ricketts, director of the state Division of Consumer Affairs, which will administer the new law.

All concerned recognize the problem.

Millions affected

Identity theft - stealing someone's personal information to commit fraud or other crimes - is growing rapidly. Last year, the Consumer Sentinel, a database maintained by the Federal Trade Commission, logged 246,570 ID theft complaints, compared with 215,093 in 2003 and 161,896 in 2002...

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Paper Shredders & Identity Theft

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