(1) No person shall buy or otherwise obtain or sell, offer for sale, take or give in exchange, pledge or give in pledge, or use any individual's social security account number, or any derivative of such number, for the purpose of committing fraud or fraudulently using or assuming said individual's identity.
(2) Any individual aggrieved by the act of any person in violation of subsection (1) of this section may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover:
(a) Such preliminary and equitable relief as the court determines to be appropriate; and (b) The greater of:
Actual damages; or
Liquidated damages of up to ten thousand dollars.
In addition to any damages and other relief awarded pursuant to subsection (2) of thissection, if the aggrieved individual prevails, the court may assess against the defendant reasonable attorney fees and any other litigation costs and expenses, including expert fees, reasonably incurred by the aggrieved individual.
Any action brought pursuant to this section shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of,any criminal prosecution that may be brought under any state or federal law.
Source: L. 98: Entire section added, p. 134, § 1, effective August 5.