Recently passed by Congress with overwhelming support, the oddly-named Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act was designed to eliminate bankruptcy of convenience. The perceived problem is that many compulsive gamblers, shoppers and drug users often run up huge debts on easily available credit cards with no intention of paying their bills. A relatively easy bankruptcy filing through Chapter 7 of the Federal bankruptcy code wipes all the debts clean and gives the debtor a fresh start. Studies would suggest that most people who file for bankruptcy are actually suffering from sudden illness, job loss or some other catastrophic event, but the law was passed just the same, and debtors will now have to repay at least a portion of their problem debt when the new law takes place in October, 2005.

A provision of the new law that was not well publicized is the fact that the law applies to any debt, including debt which has been incurred through theft of the debtors identity. If someone steals your credit card, or drivers license, or both, and runs up a huge amount of debt by posing as you, then you will be held responsible for the debt. Identity theft has become an increasingly large problem in the last few years, but the new legislation should make everyone aware of the problem associated with identity theft. While a determined thief can probably steal anything, a few simple steps can make it harder for someone to steal your identity.: