PHILADELPHIA - Pennsylvania residents now have a law designed tofurther prevent them from becoming victims of identity theft. Gov.Ed Rendell signed into law SB601, sponsored by state Sen. RobertWonderling (R-24) that puts restrictions on how Social Securitynumbers are used. Violation of the law is punishable by a fine of$50 to $500 for a first offense, and a fine of $500-$5,000 for asecond or subsequent offense. Collected fines will be distributedequally between the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund and the Officeof Attorney General for future identity theft and fraud prevention.Among other provisions of the new law, it states that no person,entity, state agency or political subdivision can: * publicly postor display any person's Social Security number; * print anindividual's Social Security number on any card required for theperson to access products or services provided by the entity; *require a person to send his Social Security number over theInternet unless it's encrypted or the connection is secure; *require a person to use their Social Security number to access anInternet Web site unless a password or other authentication deviceis also required; * print a person's Social Security number on anymaterials mailed to the person, unless required by state or federallaw.