It appears as though the government, particularly here in Hawaii, has a lot to do with protecting our identity.   I had mostly thought it to be a personal problem, but a report issued by Hawaii's Identiy Theft Task Force identifies a ton of things the city and state government can do to make our identies more secure. 

To start out, every requirement for a Social Security number and other personal information needs to be reviewed to see if the information is really needed.  At present,  both Social Security numbers and other personal information can be easily accessed by anyone wanting the information in the judiciary's court files and at the Bureau of Conveyances.

Of course, to take care of the problem, but bureaucrats want more money.  Always, they want more money.  They never seem to be able to prioritize and find the money they need within their available resources. Thus, we are stuck with a two edged sword, pay the government to fix the problem, or lose your identity and pay to get the problem fixed.   Uggghhhh!  

The Task Force made a bunch of recommendations, but suffice for us to realize that the Bureau of Conveyances which is near and dear to the heart of all realtors, was singled out as a special situation requiring improvement. 

Jerry Bangerter, RA -- Property Manager, RE/MAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive #109, Kailua, HI 96734