A new institute in Naples wants to tackle identity theft in the state.
The Identity Fraud Instituteat Hodges University will be used for research and educational purposes. It also wants to partner with organizations to get the word out about potential threats.
The Institute’s Director Carrie Kerskie said the Federal Trade Commission ranks Florida number one when it comes to identity theft.
Kerskie hopes the institute will knock Florida to the bottom of the list. She wants the institute to act as a centralized hub for identity theft issues in the state.
“You have all the different agencies from the county, city [and] state. They’re all doing their own little thing. But, until you bring it all together under one umbrella and really research it and study it and do a focused push out of data to the citizens, we’re not going to move out of the number one,” she said.
The institute will also hold seminars and workshops.
Right now, the institute is just gearing up. It asked the state for funding during this year’s legislative session, but didn’t receive it. Hodges is solely funding the institute currently. They’ll try again with the state during its 2016 legislative session.
