Identity Theft
| Author | Jeffrey Wilson |
| Pages | 333-339 |
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The person becomes the victim of identity theft when someone else uses the person's personal information to commit fraud or other crimes. An individual who commits identity theft may appropriate a name, bank account number, credit card number, social security number, or other personal information. With the increase in the amount of personal information that is exchanged on the Internet, identity theft has developed into a major concern in the United States and abroad.
Both state government and the federal government have enacted a series of statutes that are designed to deter identity theft. Many of these statutes increase penalties or expand the roles that law enforcement officials play in the investigation of identity theft. Other statutes assist victims after their identities have been stolen.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which serves as a clearinghouse for complaints about identity theft, has identified several means by which an identity thief may perpetrate the crime. These include the following:
Obtaining personal information of others while on the job
Hacking personal records
Bribing or conning an employee who has access to personal records
Stealing a victim's wallet or purse
Stealing personal information through email, phone, or other means, in a practice known as "phishing"
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Stealing credit or debt card numbers by capturing information in a data storage device, in a practice known as "skimming"
Obtaining a person's credit report
Rummaging through a person's trash can or the trash can of a business, in a practice known as "dumpster diving"
Stealing personal information found in a victim's home
Stealing mail, including bank and credit card statements, offers for new credit cards, new checks, and tax information
Completing a change of address form so that the victim's mail is sent to another location
Once an identity thief has obtained the personal information of a victim, the perpetrator may engage in a number of activities. Some of these illegal activities include the following:
Establishing a phone or wireless service in the name of the victim
Opening new credit card accounts in the victim's name
Calling credit card companies to change the billing address of the victim's account (so that the victim will not receive statements)
Creating counterfeit checks, credit cards, or debit cards
Authorizing electronic transfers in the victim's name
Draining bank accounts
Buying a car or taking out a automobile loan in the victim's name
Getting a job or filing a fraudulent tax return in the victim's name
Giving the victim's name to the police during an arrest
Those who have become the victims of identity theft may take certain actions in order to protect themselves. In some situations, a person may not be aware that he has become a victim; in others, a person may suspect that she has been victimized, but needs to determine whether this is so. The information below summarizes the some of the steps that victims or potential victims of identity theft may take.
In some instances, identity theft will be obvious to the victim. A victim may receive a telephone call from a creditor after an identity thief has opened an account in the victim's name. In other circumstances, the victim may notice unusual charges on his or her credit card statement or unauthorized withdrawals from a checking or savings account.
Even where identity theft is not immediately obvious, a victim may experience other signs that this theft has taken place. For example, the victim may stop receiving bills or other mail, indicating that an identity thief has submitted a change of address form for the victim. Similarly, a victim may be denied credit for no apparent reason or may receive credit cards for which the victim did not apply.
Three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies, also referred to as credit bureaus, maintain credit reports about each consumer. These companies maintain such information as how many accounts a consumer has and whether the consumer has paid his or her bills on time. The three companies include the following: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Contact information for these companies is available under "Organizations" at the conclusion of this essay.
Under amendments to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, passed in November 2003, each of these credit bureaus must provide every consumer with a free copy of the consumer's credit report. The credit report cannot be obtained directly from the credit bureaus, however. Instead, these reports must be obtained through one of the following: online at www.annualcreditreport.com; via phone at 1-877-322-8228; or by submitting a form to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, Georgia, 30348-5281.
In some instances under federal law, a consumer is entitled to additional free reports, such as when a company denies credit to a consumer. Moreover, some states provide for free access to credit reports. Otherwise, consumers may pay up to $9.95 to order a credit report from one of the reporting services.
Each of the three major credit bureaus maintains a fraud department. A consumer who is the victim of identity theft should contact the fraud department of one of the credit bureaus and ask that the company
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place a fraud alert on the consumer's account. Once a consumer has contacted one of these bureaus, this bureau is required to contact the other two.
This fraud alert indicates to a creditor that the creditor must contact the consumer before opening a new account or changing an existing account. If the consumer requests, the credit bureaus may only display the last four digits of the consumer's social security number on the credit reports.
When an identity thief opens a...
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