Identity Theft Legislation: The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 and the Road Not Taken (Colloquium on Identity Theft‪)‬

This article provides a review of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) as it relates to the growing problem of identity theft. The article also examines other identity theft-related proposed legislation from the 108th Congress and analyzes the effectiveness of the proposed measures. The authors conclude that FACTA represents an important step toward reducing the incidence of identity theft as well as ameliorating the damage that it causes. However, unless and until Congress addresses the extensive use and distribution of Social Security numbers and the safeguarding of data, identity theft is likely to continue to wreak financial and social havoc. **********