House Passes 'Phishing' Legislation

The state House on Monday unanimously passed legislation that would make online identity theft scams known as “phishing” a crime.

“These phishing scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated at stealing people’s identities and our laws need to keep up,” state , D-North Strabane, who authored the bill, said. “New and experienced Internet users have been victims of phishing that has drained their bank accounts and ruined their credit ratings. This bill would deter online criminals and give victims and prosecutors a tool to fight back.”

Phishing occurs when a scammer uses an email or website disguised as a legitimate business—such as a bank—to dupe the person into revealing his or her account number or personal information with the intent of defrauding the individual.

Neuman’s bill, H.B. 1156, would make it a crime for a person or entity to misrepresent itself as a legitimate business in email or on the Internet in an attempt to solicit private financial or personal information from consumers and steal from the victim.

This private information can include a person’s name, birth date, phone number, computer passwords, bank account numbers or other confidential information.

Neuman’s bill now goes to the state Senate for consideration.