The Senate was urged Sunday to pass the law that seeks to stop identity theft which has become a rapidly growing concern in the country.

Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. said Senate Bill No. 1130 should be immediately enacted into law to address such criminal act as more people now are using the Internet in making transactions. “Identity theft has become a serious concern, especially now that our society is becoming more and more dependent on online transactions,” Villar said.

Villar, head of the Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce, filed SB 1130 which categorizes “identity theft” as a crime committed when an individual with fraud, malice, ill will, intent to malign or with perversion, uses another’s relevant and sensitive personal information to take on that person’s identity.

The crime of identity theft covers: The misuse of one’s personal identification cards including passports, social security, documents relating to tax matters and employment, credit cards and other dossiers that distinguishes a person from another; mail fraud; stolen personalities in the Internet, “chat” rooms, and text messaging system. It also covers the use of advanced technology gadgets or in the mechanisms or modes of information highway and all other forms that tend to establish new identity to defraud the government or further a crime defined in existing laws.

If passed into law, it will penalize violators with imprisonment of not less than six years but not more than 20 years, or a fine of P500,000 to P5,000,000.