The United States Senate passed a bipartisan bill in an effort to assist Americans who have been victims of identity theft, most of whom have had their Social Security numbers compromised.
The Improving Social Security’s Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act would provide for a single point of contact to assist people who have been the victims of Social Security scams.
Below is information provided by Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire through a press release from her office.
Misuse of Social Security numbers is a large and growing problem, and identity theft victims face hurdles when trying to resolve issues with large, multi-office agencies such as the SSA. Currently, a victim may have to engage in multiple procedures with numerous representatives at SSA to resolve Social Security-related identity theft issues. The Improving Social Security’s Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act requires SSA to assign a single point of contact to resolve an identity theft victim’s issues, aiming to make the process more efficient and less frustrating for victims.
“Identity theft can upend the lives and finances of Americans. We must make it as simple as possible for them to put their lives back in order,” Senator Hassan said. “This common-sense, bipartisan legislation would streamline the process of helping victims of identity theft by establishing one point of contact at the Social Security Administration. I urge my colleagues in the House to pass this bipartisan legislation without delay.”
Following reports of scammers seeking to steal Americans’ identities and COVID-19 stimulus payments, Senator Hassan called for the Internal Revenue Service to continue strengthening its fraud prevention efforts and further educate Americans about these scams.
Now that the Senate has passed this bill it will be up to the U.S. House of Representatives to consider it, and considering the bipartisan support in the Senate and lack of political pitfalls of the bill it is probably likely the House will approve the bill or a similar bill.
