Identity Theft

This paper examines the problem of identity theft: What is identity theft? How widespread is the problem? How does it occur? What steps should individuals follow if they believe their identity has been stolen? Why is apprehending and prosecuting suspects so difficult? This form of fraud has become an increasingly challenging problem for consumers and law enforcement, in part because of the wide and ready availability of personal information through the Internet. Individuals must work to protect their identities and keep close watch over their credit activity in order to protect themselves against fraud, while law enforcement continues to face difficult challenges in catching and prosecuting the perpetrators.

Sunil Dutta (2003, October) writes, "The crime of the century is turning out to be one in which almost all the perpetrators get away scot-free after stealing identities, robbing their victims of tens of thousands of dollars . . ., and devastating their lives for years" (p. 290). Dutta notes that the FBI's statistics show identity theft to be the fastest-growing white-collar crime in the United States.

What is identity theft? Jeff Sovern (2004) defines it as "the practice of using the identity of another to obtain credit" (p. 233). Identity can be assumed in person, through the use of forged documents, but it is an even more pervasive problem over the Internet, over the phone, and through the mails, where a criminal assumes the identity of a legitimate con

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sness of these crimes, but there is still not enough incentive in the existing system to force creditors and credit reporting agencies to help consumers fight identity theft in significant ways. There is some indication that this imbalance is being addressed, however. Marla Royne Stafford (2004) writes, "It wasn't until 1998 when the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act was passed that identity theft was officially established as an actual offense" (p. 201). Yet almost all states have some kind of criminal codes specifically addressing identity theft. In California, identity theft is addressed under penal code 530.5-8, which encompasses a broad range of privacy issues including false impersonation for purposes including marriage, posting bail, selling false documentation, impersonating a police officer, and other fraudulent purposes, as well as covering the remediation available to individuals who have their identities stolen. Yet, as Stafford (2004) observes, "The incidence of identity theft is growing and the consequences can be severe" (p. 201). Consumers must become vigilant about protecting the critical records that establish who they are and what their rights are as an individual. Law enforcement can help, b

Category: Government - I