Oakland County, Michigan, Wednesday, December 5, 2007--Ruth Johnson, the Oakland County Clerk/Register, has appointed attorney Thomas H. Howlett to serve on her Identity Protection Task Force, a group exploring ways to safeguard private information contained in public records.

"Mr. Howlett, as a member of the legal community, will be a great addition, assisting us with our ongoing efforts to protect citizens' private information and fight potential identity theft," Johnson said. "He'll definitely be an asset to an all ready diverse group."

Committee members include Johnson, Oakland Circuit Judge Joan Young as well as representatives from the Clerk's Office Legal Division, Oakland Circuit Court, Friend of the Court, IT, Corporation Counsel and Record Retention offices.

Howlett, of the Googasian law firm in Bloomfield Hills, became an attorney in 1990 after working for several years as a newspaper reporter for The Dallas Morning News. He serves as the firm's chief operating officer. He graduated cum laude from Harvard College in 1984 and went on to attend the University of Michigan Law School, earning his law degree in 1990.

From 1990-91, he served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Douglas W. Hillman, then-Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. From 1995 to 1997, Tom and his family lived in the Republic of Palau in the western Pacific, where Tom served as Assistant Attorney General and Counsel to the President for that new island nation. Since 1999, Tom has served as a chair of the State Bar of Michigan's Law and the Media Committee.

"We need to do all we can to protect citizens against identity theft," said Howlett. "I'm very pleased to assist the task force to see what can be done."

Johnson, who has pushed for transparency and accountability in government by ensuring access to public documents, said safeguarding citizens' private information is just as critical.

"We're trying to do as much as we can," Johnson said. There has been progress. When the Clerk/Register of Deeds Office began the new Court Explorer program - which allows computer users to view basic Oakland Circuit Court case information online - private information, like Social Security numbers and birthdates, was removed so it could not be viewed online.

Court Explorer, which also allows users to order documents online, includes millions of pages of civil and criminal cases dating back to the back to the 1970s. The program has proved to be a huge success - logging more than a quarter-million visitors since its launch in November 2006.

"Ensuring that private information would not be displayed was important to help protect our residents from identity theft," Johnson said. "Right now, we're trying to work with the State Court Administrator's Office to establish additional guidelines on how to handle private information in public documents."  
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country. This is a list of the FBI's "Do's and Don'ts" list when it comes to identity theft:

DO:

• Order a copy of your credit report each year from one of the national credit bureaus and review it closely for any questionable entries;
• Shred or cut up all credit card receipts and old bank statements and bills before throwing them away;
• Close all unused credit card or bank accounts;
• Remove your name from mailing lists for pre-approved credit lines and telemarketers;
• Keep your PIN number hidden when you use an ATM or public telephone;
• Contact your creditor or service provider if you notice odd charges or if expected bills don't arrive;
• Update your computer virus software, use a secure browser, and install a firewall program.

DON'T:

• Give out personal information via the phone, mail, or Internet unless YOU initiated contact;
• Carry information like your Social Security Number (SSN) or any PIN numbers or passwords in your purse or wallet;
• Put your SSN on your checks or other identifiers.

If your identity HAS been stolen, we urge you to take immediate action:

1. Place a fraud alert on your credit file by notifying one of the national credit bureaus;

2. Contact all creditors and financial institutions that an identity thief may have used to conduct transactions in your name and close all tampered accounts;

3. Contact your local police department, as well as your local FBI field office, and file a report;

4. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (the FBI and other law enforcement agencies use these complaints in their investigations). Online identity thefts may also be reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).