A panel discussed what states are doing to combat identity theft. The instances of identify theft are increasing greatly and the victims are severely affected. Main factors in allowing identity theft would be mismanagement of consumer information by businesses and misuse of the social security number as an identifier. An area of concern is new federal legislation that preempts more innovative state laws. The panelists discussed measures both to prevent the crime and to help victims that states can take. After their presentations the panelists answered questions from reporters.