Stopping Identiy Theft In Its Tracks

When you hear about people who have had their identity stolen you can feel nothing but sympathy for them. It is something that can affect its victims for years to come and is no laughing matter. You may already know that aside from stealing money from you, criminals who steal your identity can ruin your credit record making it extremely difficult to get a mortgage or even a personal loan. It is also not always easy to prove that you have had your identity stolen. This is why tougher identity theft laws have recently passed in an attempt to stop this activity happening to people and even whole companies.

Awareness about identity theft has been slow but as more information has been broadcast on the subject, knowledge of this awful crime has now reached its peak and virtually everyone knows what identity theft is. We largely have the media to thank for this. Consumers are finally becoming far more careful when disclosing personal information and giving it out on the Internet. They are also now much more careful about the information they throw away. All personal letters from bank statement to household bills should always be shredded before you throw them in the trash.

Raised concerns from the public have now resulted in some legislative attention, both on a federal level and also in the states. The 'Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act (18 USC 1028)' was a law, which was passed in 1998. This law basically meant that identity theft became federal felony. So, if a criminal deliberately used the identification of a victim with the purpose of committing any unlawful activity under federal and state law, they would be dealt with in a far more severe manner. These offenders will be put under close investigation by federal agencies including the U.S. Secret Service, Social Security Administration, Not to mention the FBI, and even the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Also, crimes such as these are now prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

One major improvement with this identity theft law is that it also allows for victims to be reimbursed. It established a complete identity theft clearinghouse within the Federal Trade Commission.

Since this law was passed in 19998, another 39 states have criminalized identity theft and most of those have also categorised the crime as a felony. In the year 2000, the 'Senate Bill 2328' was signed by Senators Feinstein, Kyl, and Grassley. This bill is known as the "Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2000." What this law does is concentrate more on the prevention of identity theft in order to stop the crime happening in the first place. Since 2000 there has been one more addition to these laws, and this is known as the 'Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act (ITPEA)', which was signed by President George Bush.

This new identity theft law meant a number of significant changes. The first thing it did was to maximise the penalties for criminals undertaking this kind of activity. For those committing the crime in a state that considered this crime a felony, offenders could be given a mandatory two-year prison sentence. What's more, ff the identity theft is directly related to terrorist activity, the penalty includes an additional five-year prison sentence. This law also meant that the U.S. Sentencing Commission was ordered to strengthen the penalties to be given if the theft is found to be in the course of employment when the act is committed.

Most citizens are very happy that the offence has now been criminalized by these new laws. But in order to really stamp out this crime we now need some significant changes within in the credit industry itself. It is also important that these laws address how victims of identity theft have been affected, not just financially but emotionally and even physically. There should be a way for these people to know that their criminal record is incorrect. This has in a way been made easier as It is now possible for individuals to get hold of the information about them that is compiled by information brokers, employment background check services, or individual reference services. Furthermore, if wrongful information is reported in any background check for employment or other purposes, it is vital that the persons in these investigations is allowed to know the exact information and the source from where it came from.

For those victims who do have wrongful criminal records, they must have the ability to clear their records through an expedited process that involves the law enforcement agency that making the arrest, and the court system where the warrant was issued. Presently, there is no such procedure available for victims of criminal records identity theft but pressure is mounting and US citizens are hopeful that more new laws controlling these issues will be passed in due course.

Of course identity theft laws are not the only answer to this problem. It is now more important than ever that credit card companies and reporting industries make a far more concerted effort to aid consumers in stopping fraud altogether. They should also be responsible for helping victims recover from identity theft.

Personally I feel that regardless of how many new identity theft laws are passed, this crime will fail to cease unless additional efforts are added. It is important that the people and the government work together on this to stop identity thieves in their tracks.