Commissioner of Financial Institutions Moderates Business Perspectives Panel at California Summit on Identity Theft Solutions: Locking up the Evil Twin; DVD/Videotape of Summit Available

Business Wire, March 2, 2005

SAN FRANCISCO -- Commissioner of Financial Institutions Howard Gould participated in the California Summit on Identity Theft Solutions: Locking up the Evil Twin held at the Sacramento Convention Center on Tuesday, March 1, 2005.

Commissioner Gould moderated the panel discussion, Business Perspectives, where major financial services businesses described their strategies for preventing and detecting identity theft. Panel members were Ronni Burns, Senior Vice President, Business Practices, Citi Cards; Laurel B. Kamen, Vice President, Government and Consumer Affairs, American Express; Gary Reynolds, Senior Vice President/Director of Financial Crime Investigations, Wells Fargo Bank; and Tom Sullivan, Director, Merchant Risk Council/Director of e-Commerce, Expedia.

Identity theft is the fastest-growing white collar crime in the United States. Identity theft exacts a heavy toll on individuals, families and businesses. There were nearly 10 million victims in 2003, at a cost to consumers and businesses of almost $50 billion. California leads the nation in providing legal rights and remedies for identity theft victims. California is the first state to have an agency dedicated to promoting and protecting the privacy rights of consumers: the Office of Privacy Protection http://www.privacyprotection.ca.gov/.

A DVD/videotape of the Identity Theft Summit is available by contacting The California Channel at (916) 444-9792 or by e-mail at us@calchannel.com. Additional Summit information is available at http://www.idtheftsummit.ca.gov/index.html.

DFI supervises over 650 financial institutions, including 204 commercial and industrial banks and 221 credit unions. The Department is responsible for administering state laws regulating state-licensed financial institutions: commercial banks, credit unions, industrial banks, savings associations, trust companies, offices of foreign banks, issuers of travelers checks and payment instruments (money orders), and transmitters of money abroad. The Department reports to Sunne Wright McPeak, Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.