ID Theft Laws

Hawaii laws help protect Hawaii residents from ID Theft. 

Below are brief summaries of the laws. To see the full text of the law, click on the link to the applicable Haw. Rev. Stat. (HRS) number. 

HRS Chapter 487N (Notification of Security Breaches). Requires businesses and government agencies that keep confidential information about consumers to notify those consumers if that information has been compromised by an unauthorized disclosure.   

HRS Chapter 487R (Destruction of Personal Information). The law, sometimes referred to as the “dumpster diving” law, requires businesses and government agencies to take reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to an individual’s personal information when disposing of the records they keep.   

HRS Chapter 487J (Social Security Number Protection). Restricts business and government agencies from disclosing consumers’ Social Security numbers to the general public.  

HRS Chapter 489P (Security Freeze). Allows victims of identity theft to place a security freeze on their credit reports, which will prevent identity thieves from taking out credit in the victims’ good names. 

HRS §§ 708-800 and 706-606.5 (Criminal Penalties). Establishes “unauthorized possession of confidential information” as a class C felony and adds identity theft as an enumerated offense within the repeat offender statute.