Legislation to protect New Yorkers’ privacy by keeping the state Department of Motor Vehicles from selling personal information to the highest bidder without their consent has been introduced in the state Senate by Sen. Patty Ritchie (R-Heuvelton).

Ritchie, whose district includes all of the northern edge of St. Lawrence County from Massena to Hammond, including Ogdensburg, plus Canton and Gouverneur, said she has launched an online petition “to send a message to DMV that New Yorker’s personal information shouldn’t be for sale,” a press release from the senator’s office said.

The petition can be found on Ritchie’s website, www.ritchie.nysenate.gov.

“Armed with little more than a name and address, criminals are wreaking havoc on individuals’ personal finances, ruining credit and wrecking reputations,” Ritchie said. “And while New Yorkers have grown used to safeguarding their credit cards and checkbooks, and shredding financial documents and bank statements to keep them from the prying eyes of crooks, the state DMV is selling the very same information to the highest bidder.” she said.

“State law requires us to provide the DMV with detailed personal information, but we need more control over what the agency does with it after the fact. That’s what this legislation seeks to do,” she said.

New Yorkers have grown increasingly concerned about identity theft in the wake of growing incidents of breaches that exposed huge flaws in some major retailers’ systems that are supposed to keep consumers’ personal information safe.

Under Senate bill 5668, drivers would be able to decide if DMV can sell their personal information. The bill would require drivers to “opt-in” to any DMV-sponsored program that sells personal information. An exception would be allowed for vehicle recalls and similar notices concerning vehicle safety.

According to a recent study, approximately 12.7 million Americans were affected by identity theft last year, costing victims a total of $16 billion, Ritchie’s statement said.