November 16, 2007

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Harry Reid of

Nevada

is praising the Senate’s passage of the Identity Theft and Restitution Act of 2007. This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), passed by unanimous consent in Congress, and enjoyed a wide range of support from government, industry, and consumer groups such as: the Department of Justice, the Secret Service, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Cyber Security Industry Alliance, and the AARP to name a few.

“This is really important legislation. It helps people who have been victimized and works to prevent future crimes,” said Reid. “I am so glad the Senate passed this legislation to combat an issue that has affected so many Nevadans.”

The Identity Theft and Restitution Act of 2007 will help victims recover from the damage of having their identity stolen, allow for the prosecution of identity theft targeted at businesses as well as individuals, make it a felony to use spyware to damage ten or more computers, and make it a crime to threaten to steal or release information from a computer.