Bipartisan Bill to Combat Business Identity Theft Passes the Senate

Denver, February 18, 2022 - “Combating Business Identity Theft” (SB22-034), an important bipartisan bill for businesses and Colorado residents throughout the state, is a collaboration between the Colorado Secretary of State, the Colorado Attorney General, and the state legislature. Yesterday, the bill passed the Senate and will now go to the House for consideration. The bipartisan bill is sponsored by Senator Chris Kolker, Senator Kevin Priola, Representative Shannon Bird, and Representative Shane Sandridge. 

With over 4,000 cases of business identity theft reported in the state last year, the “Combating Business Identity Theft” bill allows the Secretary of State’s Office and Attorney General to field complaints of fraudulent documents filed with the Department of State, investigate them, and remedy records before additional harm is done.   

“With the rise in business identity theft due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Colorado businesses have become targets for this type of fraud, which can do significant damage to a business’s credit and reputation,” said Secretary of State Jena Griswold.  “That’s why I’m pleased to be working with Senators Kolker and Priola, as well as Representatives Bird and Sandridge, to advance the “Combating Business Identity Theft” bill, which provides protection to hard-working Colorado businesses from the increasing threat of business identity theft.” 

“Colorado businesses and consumers have become more susceptible to business identity fraud over the last few years, and it’s up to us to protect them,” said Sen. Kolker, D-Centennial. “This bill will help combat this type of fraud by giving consumers the ability to seek remediation, shielding businesses from being targets, and equipping our state with the tools necessary to prevent crime and protect Coloradans.”

Under the “Combating Business Identity Theft” bill, when the Secretary of State’s office receives a complaint of suspected fraudulent filings, that complaint will be referred to the Attorney General’s Office for investigation. If the subsequent investigation determines the business filing to be fraudulent, the Secretary of State’s Office will then redact victim information and flag the record as suspected fraudulent activity. 

Business identity theft is a crime in which thieves use a business’s identity to establish lines of credit with banks or retailers. With these lines of credit, the identity thieves often then buy items that can be exchanged for cash or sold with relative ease. The damage can be devastating to the victim business with credit history damage or denial of credit leading to operational problems.   

Currently the Colorado Secretary of State, the Colorado Attorney General, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation ID Theft Unit do provide a Business Identity Theft Resource Guide with the information necessary to avoid and reduce the threat of business identity theft while also assisting businesses that have already fallen victim to these crimes.    

For a full summary and text of the “Combating Business Identity Theft” bill, please click here.