McCaskill Bill Targets “Synthetic Identity Theft”

Lake Area residents and Missourians, in general, could soon have added protections to minimize the chances of becoming a victim of what’s called “synthetic identity theft.” U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is leading a bi-partisan effort which would require financial institutions to confirm names and birthdates match social security numbers in credit card applications. The scammers, according to McCaskill, are using children’s stolen social security numbers to open fraudulent credit cards and crash their credit before they even graduate from high school. Synthetic identity theft uses a combination of fake and real information to open credit cards, financial accounts and obtain forms of identification. Currently, the Social Security Administration database confirms whether names, birthdays and socials match by requiring written consent on a paper application