AN
ACT Relating to protecting the privacy of financial information; adding a new
chapter to Title 9 RCW; prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 1.
INTENT. The legislature finds that financial information is
personal and sensitive information that if unlawfully obtained by others may do
significant harm to a person's privacy, financial security, and other
interests. The legislature finds that unscrupulous persons find ever more
clever ways, including identity theft, to improperly obtain and use financial
information. The legislature intends to penalize unscrupulous people for
improperly obtaining financial information.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 2.
PROHIBITING ATTEMPTS TO IMPROPERLY OBTAIN FINANCIAL INFORMATION. (1) No person
may obtain or attempt to obtain, or cause to be disclosed or attempt to cause
to be disclosed to any person, financial information from a financial
information repository:
(a)
By knowingly making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or
representation to an officer, employee, or agent of a financial information
repository with the intent to deceive the officer, employee, or agent into
relying on that statement or representation for purposes of releasing the
financial information;
(b)
By knowingly making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or
representation to a customer of a financial information repository with the
intent to deceive the customer into releasing financial information or
authorizing the release of such information;
(c)
By knowingly providing any document to an officer, employee, or agent of a
financial information repository, knowing that the document is forged,
counterfeit, lost, or stolen; was fraudulently obtained; or contains a false,
fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, if the document is provided
with the intent to deceive the officer, employee, or agent to release the
financial information.
(2)
No person may request another person to obtain financial information from a
financial information repository and knows or should have known that the person
will obtain or attempt to obtain the information from the financial institution
repository in any manner described in subsection (1) of this section.
(3)
As used in this section, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a)
"Financial information" means, to the extent it is nonpublic, any of
the following information identifiable to the individual that concerns the
amount and conditions of an individual's assets, liabilities, or credit:
(i)
Account numbers and balances;
(ii)
Transactional information concerning any account; and
(iii)
Codes, passwords, social security numbers, tax identification numbers, driver's
license or permit numbers, state identicard numbers issued by the department of
licensing, and other information held for the purpose of account access or
transaction initiation.
(b)
"Financial information repository" means any person engaged in the
business of providing services to customers who have a credit, deposit, trust,
stock, or other financial account or relationship with the person.
(c)
"Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, or
association.
(4)
No provision of this section shall be construed so as to prevent any action by
a law enforcement agency, or any officer, employee, or agent of such agency, or
any action of an agent of the financial information repository when working in
conjunction with a law enforcement agency.
(5)
This section does not apply to:
(a)
Efforts by the financial information repository to test security procedures or
systems of the financial institution repository for maintaining the
confidentiality of customer information;
(b)
Investigation of alleged employee misconduct or negligence; or
(c)
Efforts to recover financial or personal information of the financial
institution obtained or received by another person in any manner described in
subsection (1) or (2) of this section.
(6)
Violation of this section is a class C felony.
(7)
A person that violates this section is liable for five hundred dollars or
actual damages, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorneys' fees. If the
person violating this section is a business that repeatedly violates this
section, that person also violates the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86
RCW.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 3.
PROHIBITING IDENTITY THEFT. (1) No person may knowingly use or knowingly
transfer a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit,
or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity harming or intending to harm the
person whose identity is used, or for committing any felony.
(2)
For purposes of this section, "means of identification" means any
information or item that is not describing finances or credit but is personal
to or identifiable with any individual or other person, including any current
or former name of the person, telephone number, and electronic address or
identifier of the individual or any member of his or her family, including the
ancestor of such person; any information relating to a change in name, address,
telephone number, or electronic address or identifier of the individual or his
or her family; any social security, driver's license, or tax identification
number of the individual or any member of his or her family; and other
information which could be used to identify the person, including unique
biometric data.
(3)
Violation of this section is a class C felony.
(4)
A person that violates this section is liable for five hundred dollars or
actual damages, including costs to repair the person's credit record, whichever
is greater, and reasonable attorneys' fees. If the person violating this
section is a business that repeatedly violates this section, that person also
violates the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 4.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This act takes effect January 1, 2000.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 5.
CAPTIONS NOT LAW. Captions used in this chapter are not part of the law.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 6.
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. If any provision of this act or its application to any
person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the
application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7.
Sections 1 through 6 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 9 RCW.
