Identity fraud is a serious crime and an identity fraud law has been enacted in the United States of America to curb this growing threat. Legislators and law enforcement agencies became aware of the increasing incidence of identity theft and passed the Identity Theft and Asuncion Deterrence Act (ITADA) in 1998 to bring identity thieves to justice and protect the victim.
Most of the time, identity fraud involves online transactions and the culprit is anonymous and faceless. The process of locating the culprit is therefore tedious and difficult, but not impossible. With the increased use of the Internet in everyday activities, there has been a proportional increase in the number of identity fraud cases.
Tracking down the criminal requires coordination between various federal organizations such as the FTC, the Postal Inspection Service, the United States Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice, and the credit reporting agency.
The identity fraud law gives the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the task of receiving complaints from victims of identity theft and providing them with the necessary information. The FTC processes the complaint and then forwards it to the appropriate authority for necessary action.
ITADA passed by the United States Senate in 1998 identified identity theft associated with mortgages, credit cards, loans, services, and commodities as punishable. With the increasing complexity of identity theft, the Senate amended the ITADA in 2003.
The ITADA as amended makes it illegal for any individual to be in deliberate possession of the identity of another person without lawful authority. If the identity is used to commit, aid or abet any activity that is in violation of federal law, it is a serious federal crime and appropriate legal action will be taken.
The ITADA recognizes identity fraud as a serious crime and if proven guilty in a court of law, the culprit could serve up to thirty years in prison in addition to penalties.
California and Wisconsin are two US states that have created a privacy protection office tasked with educating citizens on how to avoid identity theft and help them cope with and recover from identity fraud.
California also enacted a data breach notification law that was later emulated by many states. This law states that a business must notify all of its customers of any data breach that is identified.
Currently, most states in the United States have enacted special laws to combat identity theft. Most states also have a special section within the Attorney General’s office that deals exclusively with identity theft.
You should notify the FTC immediately after learning about the identity theft. You can do this by email or by calling their toll-free number or by visiting your local FTC office in person. You should also report it to the credit reporting agency and local police department.
The identity fraud law is relatively new and amendments will be made as new ways to swindle money are updated. Being well informed and preventing is the best way to fight against identity fraud.
