You might sometimes feel pity when you encounter stories about identity theft victims. If you were in the same situation, you would know how it feels to be in a victim's shoes. This is why identity theft laws have been made and enacted. Identity Theft Laws attempt to quell and stop this ongoing threat to people, companies, organizations of all sorts, and the whole country for that matter.
Awareness about Identity Theft among consumers has reached somewhat of a peak in recent years, due primarily to the media coverage that ID Theft has been getting as of late. Consumers are becoming more wary when disclosing personal information and are checking up to see that it isn't given out without their consent, especially on the Internet.
Outcries by the public have resulted in legislative attention brought to the issue, both on the federal level and in individual US states.
The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act (18 USC 1028) was signed in 1998. This law made identity theft a federal felony. That is, when someone deliberately uses the identification of another person with the purpose of committing any unlawful activity, this infraction falls under federal and state law.
For those who violate this law, they will be placed under close investigation by federal agencies such as the U.S. Secret Service, the Social Security Administration, the FBI, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Such crimes are prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
This law also allows for reimbursement for victims. It established an identity theft clearinghouse within the Federal Trade Commission.
In the following years, 40 states have criminalized identity theft. Most of them have also made it a felony.
In 2000, Senate Bill 2328 was signed by Senators Feinstein, Kyl, and Grassley. This bill is called the "Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2000." This law emphasizes more on the prevention that should be taken to combat ID Theft crimes.
The latest addition to these laws is the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act (ITPEA) signed by President George Bush.
What are the provisions of this identity theft law?
Theft determined to be of the IDENTITY THEFT type (a felony) is given a mandatory two-year prison sentence.
If the identity theft is directly related to any terrorist activity, the penalty is an additional five-year prison sentence.
This law also orders the U.S. Sentencing Commission to strengthen the penalties to be given if the act of theft is found to have been committed during the course of employment.
Lastly, it gives the judges the authority to give out soft punishments like probation and community for the offenders.
A lot of people are more than happy that this crime has been criminalized by the laws, finally. But one must note that, in order to put a hold on identity theft, drastic changes have to made in the credit industry.
Also important - these laws should continue to address what identity theft victims have gone through. There should be a way for consumers to know when certain individuals have a wrongful criminal record.
Some of the bills already passed include a provision for making it possible for individuals to acquire information on questionable individuals - from information compiled by proper information brokers, employment background check services, or individual reference services.
If wrongful information is reported in any background check for employment or other purposes, it is vital that the persons involved in these investigations know the precise information that has been made available, including the source from which the information came.
For those persons who have wrongful criminal records, they must be able to clear their records through an expedited process involving the law enforcement agency that made the arrest, the Court System where the warrant was issued, and other avenues that affect the individual and his/her reputation wrongfully. Presently, no such procedure is available.
Identity theft laws should not be the only and single answer to this ongoing problem. It is also vital that credit card companies, reporting and statistics industries, and any related industries should make an effort to assist consumers in stopping fraud altogether. These industries should also help victims recover from identity theft.
No matter how many identity theft laws are created and passed, this crime will still continue if additional efforts to alleviate this crime are not added. It is important that both the general public, as well as the government, work together in order to stop identity thieves in their tracks.
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