PART XII. IDENTITY THEFT

§3568. Identity theft

A. Police reports. Notwithstanding the fact that jurisdiction may lie elsewhere for investigation and prosecution of a crime of identity theft, victims of identity theft may file police reports about the identity theft with the Louisiana Department of Justice, office of the attorney general, or in the municipality or parish in which the victim is domiciled, or both. The Louisiana Department of Justice, office of the attorney general, or the municipal police department or sheriff's office shall receive and file any report of identity theft filed by victims as authorized under this Subsection. For the purposes of this Subsection, "police report" means a loss or other similar report filed with the Louisiana Department of Justice, office of the attorney general, or the municipal police department, or with a sheriff's department, or with a similar law enforcement agency.

B. Creditors to make information available. (1) Each creditor who grants credit as a result of information which was obtained through an identity theft shall make available to the victim of the identity theft application information and transactional information, such as a copy of one or more complete monthly billing statements prepared in the regular course of business by a financial institution, in the possession of the creditor which the victim needs to undo the effects of the identity theft. Prior to providing information to the victim, the creditor or its representative may require the victim to submit a written statement, dated and signed by the victim of identity theft, which (a) provides information sufficient to verify the identity of the victim and the existence of an identity crime, including a copy of the police report and a copy of the victim's state-issued identification card, and (b) states that the consumer authorizes disclosure of the information, and (c) identifies the information the victim requests to be disclosed.

(2) No creditor may be held liable for an action taken in good faith to provide information regarding potential or actual violations of this Part to other financial information repositories, financial service providers, merchants, law enforcement authorities, victims, or any person alleging to be a victim who complies with Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, or to assist a victim in recovery of fines, restitution, and rehabilitation of the victim's credit, or such other relief as may be appropriate.

C. Security alerts. (1) A person who receives notification of a security alert under R.S. 9:3571.1 in connection with a request for a consumer report for the approval of a credit-based application, including an application for a new extension of credit, a purchase, lease, or rental agreement for goods, or for an application for a noncredit-related service, shall not lend money, extend credit, or authorize an application without taking reasonable steps to verify the consumer's identity. For the purposes of this Section, "extension of credit" does not include an increase in an existing open-end credit plan, as defined in Regulation Z of the Federal Reserve System (12 C.F.R. 226.2), or any change to or review of an existing credit account.

(2) If a consumer has included with a security alert a specified telephone number to be used for identity verification purposes, a person who receives that number with a security alert shall contact the consumer using that number or take reasonable steps to verify the consumer's identity and confirm that the application for an extension of credit is not the result of financial theft before lending money, extending credit, or completing any purchase, lease, or rental of goods, or approving any noncredit-related services.

(3) If a person uses a consumer report to facilitate the extension of credit or for any other transaction on behalf of a subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee, or prospective assignee, that person, rather than the subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee, or prospective assignee, may verify the consumer's identity.

D. Damages. Effective January 1, 2004, each creditor, potential creditor, credit reporting agency, or other entity which violates the provisions of this Part shall be liable to the victim of an identity theft for all of the documented out-of-pocket expenses caused by such creditor, potential creditor, credit reporting agency, or other entity and suffered by the victim as a result of the identity theft, plus reasonable attorney fees.

Acts 2003, No. 934, §1.