Identity Theft

Prompted by a highly publicized murder and mounting public concern about privacy and identity theft, lawmakers are considering whether to restrict or ban the sale or disclosure of a person's Social Security number without consent. In hearings today and Thursday, a House Ways and Means subcommittee will hear testimony from people whose Social Security numbers were stolen, as well as from business leaders and state officials who fear that limiting use of the numbers could turn record-keeping into a nightmare.

Damian Lanza was stunned when the bills came. Several thousand dollars for a sofa, a loveseat and other furniture that Lanza, of Drexel Hill, said he had not bought. "I was very distraught, and spent many sleepless nights worrying about it," said Lanza, 23, a student at Pennsylvania State University's Delaware County campus. Police say Lanza was one of at least a dozen victims of an elaborate credit-card scam run by a West Philadelphia man who hired drug addicts, homeless people and others to root through garbage, seeking personal information about people and then using it to apply for credit and ran up thousands of dollars in fraudulent purchases.

In February, Sara Henry, a nurse from South Jersey, went to Atlanta for the NBA all-star weekend and met the cousin of a friend's ex-boyfriend, a flash guy who was tooling around town in a BMW 745. Henry, who was working at Frankford Hospital-Frankford Campus, knew him as Sabor, and they started dating when they returned to New Jersey three weeks later. Soon, the 28-year-old Lindenwold woman would find herself part of what officials said was an identity-theft ring based in North Jersey but with tentacles spreading to the Shore and probably beyond.

New Jersey consumers would get added tools to combat and react to identity theft under legislation the Assembly and Senate reconciled yesterday, setting up final votes this week. If enacted, as expected, the measure would give residents among the most aggressive state support to deal with what has been described as an epidemic. "It's a really big victory for New Jersey consumers," said Kerry Smith, senior consumer attorney for the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group.

Two years ago, Mari Frank got a telephone call that rocked her world. A creditor was dunning her over an $11,000 debt. Frank was stunned; she knew of no such bill. Where, she asked, had the billing statements been mailed? The answer was startling: an address hundreds of miles away. "I was panicking," said Frank, 50, a single mother and lawyer in Laguna Niguel, Calif. "My heart was racing. I thought, 'I'm in big trouble.' " Frank was in big trouble. Her identity had been stolen.

Jocelyn S. Kirsch can't seem to break the habit. Already described as a poster child for identity theft by Philadelphia's top federal prosecutor, a handcuffed Kirsch ended up in court yesterday after prosecutors said she stole another credit card in California last week. She wasn't charged in the theft, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski set federal bail at $50,000 and ordered Kirsch, 22, held under house arrest until another court hearing next week. Kirsch is expected to plead guilty June 5 in U.S. District Court in Center City to a six-count complaint charging her and boyfriend Edward K. Anderton with using the good names and credit of others to finance a yearlong, $119,000 spending spree.

A second lender has sued B.J. Marchese Auto World of Limerick, whose business manager, Benjamin J. Marchese 3d, has been charged with using identity theft to obtain bank loans. Sovereign Bank of Easton earlier this month filed a civil suit in Montgomery County Court against the auto dealer and claimed it used fraud to obtain $2.3 million in auto loans. The bank's lawsuit charges that Benjamin Marchese 3d engaged in a scheme to dupe it into making loans to fictitious customers.

AOL's admission last week that it had compiled detailed records of Internet searches on hundreds of thousands of its subscribers should remind Pennsylvania voters of the vulnerability of another kind of private information - financial and credit records. The Pennsylvania legislature is considering a law that would allow consumers to tell credit-reporting agencies not to turn over personal financial information - freezing their account - unless the consumer gives permission first. Congress, however, wants to trump state "credit freeze" laws and permit credit bureaus to continue to sell the information.

HIS ROYAL Highness the prince of Wales listened attentively to his fellow panelist, a well-spoken Drexel University student, as she discussed economics and globalization. Philadelphia's best and brightest university students participated on the small, invitation-only panel last year at International House Philadelphia to discuss with Prince Charles "The Future of Mega Cities in the Developing World. " Students were not to raise their hands, but were told instead to take their respective name cards and place them in a vertical position.