Rhode Island Legislature Approves Bill To Combat Digital Scams And Identity Theft

PROVIDENCE, RI — The Rhode Island legislature passed a bill to combat digital scams and identity theft.

The bill now heads to the governor's office for consideration.

State Rep. Joseph J. Solomon Jr., D-Warwick, introduced the legislation to strengthen Rhode Island’s laws against identity fraud and emerging forms of digital deception.

The bill "would protect individuals and businesses from those who knowingly impersonate an entity with the intent of facilitating fraud as well as protect individuals and businesses from digital forgery," according to a media release.

“While our current statutes address traditional forms of identity fraud, they don’t account for the growing sophistication of impersonation schemes and digital forgery that we’re seeing today,” Solomon said in the release.

“We’ve all received these (texts) — the city of Providence trying to collect a fine, the DMV trying to suspend your license, the Turnpike and Bridge Authority trying to collect tolls," Solomon said. "This bill recognizes the increased use of technology in these scams to not only hold perpetrators accountable, but to deter conduct that can devastate victims, whether through financial loss, reputational harm or compromised personal security.”

The proposed legislation would define “digital forgery” as participating in the generation, creation or distribution of a computer-generated visual or audio representation that’s been created to deceive people, according to the release.

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