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The Citizen of Laconia reports that a new law -- HB227/RSA359 -- goes into effect on January 1, 2008 which will help victims of identity theft seek monetary relief from the criminal offender. From the paper:

"in addition to any other remedies provided by law, a victim may bring an action in his or her county of residence or any county which any part of the act took place, regardless of whether the person who committed the violation was ever actually present in that county, against the person who violated this chapter."

This new statute also allows victims to recoup either $5,000 per incident of identity theft or three times the actual damages. The remedy that is allowed to be sought depends on whichever is greater.

There is also a provision to allow for the reimbursement of attorneys fees and court costs.

Prior to this law, New Hampshire citizens had no local, legal recourse for seeking damages/justice when falling prey to this potentially very devastating crime.

While many categorize identity theft as a computer-related offense, it is much easier for a thief to resort to more pedestrian tactics, such as stealing postal mail. Even if you never do anything online, you should still keep a close eye on your financial statements to ensure there are no inconsistencies.

You can find out more information on identify theft at 101-IdentityTheft.com.