CHAPTER 51-31
IDENTITY FRAUD
51-31-01. Definitions.
1.
"Consumer" means an individual.
2.
"Consumer report" has the same meaning as provided in 15 U.S.C. 1681a(d).
3.
"Consumer reporting agency" means any person that, for monetary fees or dues or<br>on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in the practice of assembling or<br>evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the<br>purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties, and which uses any means<br>or facility of interstate or intrastate commerce for the purpose of preparing or<br>furnishing consumer reports. The term does not include an agency that compiles<br>and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis, as described in 15 U.S.C.<br>1681a(p), a "reseller" as defined in 15 U.S.C. 1681a(u), when engaged in the act of<br>the reselling of consumer information or other information, or a "nationwide specialty<br>consumer reporting agency" that maintains "check writing history" as defined in 15<br>U.S.C. 1681a(w)(3).
4.
"File", when used in connection with information on any consumer, means all of the<br>information on that consumer reported and retained by a consumer reporting agency<br>regardless of how the information is stored.
51-31-02. Initial fraud alerts. Upon the direct request of a consumer or an individual
acting on behalf of or as a personal representative of a consumer, who asserts in good faith a<br>suspicion that the consumer has been or is about to become a victim of fraud or related crime,<br>including identity theft, a consumer reporting agency that maintains a file on the consumer and<br>has received appropriate proof of the identity of the requester shall include a fraud alert in the file<br>of that consumer. The consumer reporting agency shall continue that alert along with any credit<br>score generated in using that file, for a period of not less than ninety days beginning on the date<br>of the request, unless the consumer or the consumer's representative requests that the fraud<br>alert be removed before the end of the period and the agency has received appropriate proof of<br>the identity of the requester for that purpose.
51-31-03.
Extended fraud alerts.
Upon the direct request of a consumer or an
individual acting on behalf of or as a personal representative of a consumer, who asserts in good<br>faith a suspicion that the consumer has been or is about to become a victim of fraud or related<br>crime, including identity theft, a consumer reporting agency that maintains a file on the consumer<br>and has received appropriate proof of the identity of the requester shall:
1.
Include a fraud alert in the file of that consumer and continue that alert along with<br>any credit score generated in using that file, during the seven-year period beginning<br>on the date of the request, unless the consumer or the consumer's representative<br>requests that the fraud alert be removed before the end of that period and the<br>agency has received appropriate proof of the identity of the requester for that<br>purpose; and
2.
During the five-year period beginning on the date of the request, exclude the<br>consumer from any list of consumers prepared by the consumer reporting agency<br>and provided to any third party to offer credit or insurance to the consumer as part of<br>a transaction that was not initiated by the consumer, unless the consumer or the<br>consumer's representative requests that the exclusion be rescinded before the end<br>of that period.
51-31-04. Police reports - Judicial determination of factual innocence.
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1.
An individual who has learned or reasonably suspects that the individual's personal<br>identifying information has been unlawfully used by another, as described in section<br>12.1-23-11, may initiate a law enforcement investigation by contacting the local law<br>enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over the individual's residence or any other<br>jurisdiction in which any part of the offense occurred. The law enforcement agency<br>shall take a report of the matter, provide the individual with a copy of that report, and<br>begin an investigation of the facts.
If the suspected crime was committed in a
different jurisdiction, the local law enforcement agency may refer the matter to the<br>law enforcement agency where the suspected crime was committed for further<br>investigation of the facts.
2.
An individual who reasonably believes that the individual is the victim of identity theft<br>may petition the district court in the county in which the alleged victim resides or in<br>which the identity theft is alleged to have occurred, or the court, on its own motion or<br>upon application of the state's attorney, may move for an expedited judicial<br>determination of the individual's factual innocence, if the perpetrator of the identity<br>theft was arrested, cited, or convicted of a crime under the victim's identity, if a<br>criminal complaint has been filed against the perpetrator in the victim's name, or if<br>the victim's identity has been mistakenly associated with a record of criminal<br>conviction. Any judicial determination of factual innocence made under this section<br>may be heard and determined upon declarations, affidavits, police reports, or other<br>material, relevant, and reliable information submitted by the parties or ordered to be<br>part of the record by the court. If the court determines that the petition or motion is<br>meritorious and that there is no reasonable cause to believe that the victim<br>committed the offense for which the perpetrator of the identity theft was arrested,<br>cited, convicted, or subject to a criminal complaint in the victim's name, or that the<br>victim's identity has been mistakenly associated with a record of criminal conviction,<br>the court shall find the victim factually innocent of that offense. If the victim is found<br>factually innocent, the court shall issue an order certifying that determination.
3.
After a court has issued a determination of factual innocence under this section, the<br>court may order the name and associated personal identifying information contained<br>in court records, files, and indexes accessible by the public deleted, sealed, or<br>labeled to show that the data is impersonated and does not reflect the defendant's<br>identity.
4.
A court that has issued a determination of factual innocence under this section may<br>vacate that determination if the petition or any information submitted in support of<br>the petition is found to contain any material misrepresentation or fraud.
51-31-05. Enforcement - Powers - Remedies - Penalties. The attorney general may
enforce this chapter. In enforcing this chapter, the attorney general has all the powers provided<br>in this chapter or chapter 51-15 and may seek all remedies in this chapter or chapter 51-15. A<br>violation of this chapter constitutes a violation of chapter 51-15.
The remedies, duties,
prohibitions, and penalties of this chapter are not exclusive and are in addition to all other causes<br>of action, remedies, and penalties as provided in chapter 51-15 and as otherwise provided by<br>law.
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Document Outline
chapter 51-31 identity fraud
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