Just as tax filing season opens nationwide, a new law drafted by U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, and signed into law by President Barack Obama should start shielding many employees from identity theft by letting employers leave Social Security numbers off of W-2 forms. “This common-sense measure will help safeguard millions of Americans from the devastation of identity theft,” Buchanan said. “By limiting the use of Social Security numbers on tax forms, we can help keep hardworking Americans’ personal information out of the hands of criminals.”

The Taxpayer Identification Protection Act, a part of the tax extenders bill, becomes law at a time when tax-related identity theft has been on the rise. Theft of W-2 forms, often out of mailboxes, opens up many victims to problems as identity thieves misuse Social Security and other personal information found on the forms. Now, employers are only required to include the last four digits of a Social Security Number on the tax forms, which by law are recieved by all employees earning more than $600 in a year.

The Federal Trade Commission identified Florida as the state with the highest per capita rate of identity theft. Buchanan’s office reports that more than 800 complaints of such theft were filed in the Sarasota-North Port-Bradenton area alone. Treasury officials say senior citizens are particularly likely to be targeted by identity thieves, who can use information obtained on W-2s to file false tax claims.