Identity theft

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Crimes
Classes of crime
Infraction · Misdemeanor · Felony
Summary · Indictable · Hybrid
Against the person
Assault · Battery
Extortion · Harassment
Kidnapping · Identity theft
(Corporate) Manslaughter
Murder · Rape
Robbery
Against property
Arson · Blackmail
Burglary · Deception
Embezzlement · False pretenses
Fraud · Handling
Larceny · Theft
Vandalism
Against the public order
Drug possession
Against the state
Tax evasion
Espionage · Treason
Against justice
Bribery · Misprision of felony
Obstruction · Perjury
Malfeasance in office
Inchoate offenses
Accessory · Attempt
Conspiracy · Incitement
Solicitation · Common purpose
Note: Crimes vary by jurisdiction.
Not all are listed here.

Identity theft is a crime involving illegal usage of another individual's identity.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Types
* 2 Examples
* 3 Individual identity protection
* 4 Identity protection by organizations
* 5 Legal response
o 5.1 U.S.
o 5.2 UK
o 5.3 Australia
o 5.4 France
* 6 Techniques for obtaining information
* 7 Spread and impact
* 8 Cultural references
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links

[edit] Types

According to the non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center, identity theft is sub-divided into four

categories:

* Financial Identity Theft (using another's name and SSN to obtain goods and services)
* Criminal Identity Theft (posing as another when apprehended for a crime)
* Identity Cloning (using another's information to assume his or her identity in daily life)
* Business/Commercial Identity Theft (using another's business name to obtain credit)

Related crimes include illegal immigration, terrorism and espionage. Identity theft may also be a means

of blackmail. There are also cases of identity cloning to attack payment systems, such as obtaining

medical treatment.

[edit] Examples

A classic example of consumer-dependent financial crime occurs when Bob obtains a loan from a financial

institution impersonating Peter. Bob uses Peter's personal identifiers that he has somehow acquired.

These personal identifiers conform with the data retained on Peter by national credit-rating services.

For Bob, these crimes are non self-revealing, although authorities can track Bob down unless he conceals

his mailing address somehow. With consumers being credit-dependent, the onus shifts to them to re-

establish their credit-worthiness with the lending institutions and credit-rating services.

Another example: a criminal legally acquires personal identifiers, and then clones someone to them for

concealment from authorities. Unlike credit-dependent financial crimes, these crimes are non self-

revealing, continuing for an indeterminate amount of time without being detected.

[edit] Individual identity protection

The acquisition of legally attributed personal identifiers is made possible by serious breaches of

privacy. For consumers it is usually due to personal naivete in who they provide their information to or

carelessness in protecting their information from theft (e.g. vehicle break-ins and home invasions).

Guardianship of personal identifiers by consumers is the most common intervention strategy recommended

by the Federal Trade Commission, Canadian Phone Busters and most sites that address "identity theft".

Personal guardianship issues include recommendations on what consumers may do to prevent their

information getting into the wrong hands.

[edit] Identity protection by organizations

In their May 1998 testimony before the United States Senate, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) dicussed

the sale of Social Security numbers and other personal identifiers by credit-raters and data miners. The

FTC agreed to the industry's self-regulating principles restricting access to information on credit

reports such name, address, Social Security number, etc.[1] According the industry the restrictions vary

according to the category of customer. Credit-rating services gather and disclosure personal and credit

information to a wide business client base.

Governments, in registering sole proprietorships, partnerships and corporations do not make an effort to

determine if the officers listed in the Articles of Incorporation are who they say they are, potentially

allowing criminals access to personal information through credit-rating and data mining services. Other

poor corporate diligence standards include:

* a failure to shred confidential information before throwing it into dumpsters
* the brokerage of personal information to other businesses without ensuring that the purchaser

maintains adequate security controls
* the theft of laptop computers being carried off-site containing vast amounts of personal

information.

If corporate or government organizations do not protect consumer privacy, client confidentiality and

political privacy, the acquisition of personal identifiers to commit unlawful acts will continue to be a

prime target for criminals.[2]

[edit] Legal response

[edit] U.S.

The increase in crimes of identiy theft lead to the drafting of the Identity Theft and Assumption

Deterrence Act.[3] In 1998, The Federal Trade Commission appeared before the United States Senate.[4]

The FTC discussed crimes which exploit consumer credit to commit loan fraud, mortgage fraud, lines-of-

credit fraud, credit card fraud, commodities and services frauds. The Identity Theft and Assumption

Deterrence Act (2003)[ITADA] amended the U.S. Code, s. 1028: "Fraud related to activity in connection

with identification documents, authentication features, and information". The Code now makes possession

of any "means of identification" to "knowingly transfer, possess, or use without lawful authority" a

federal crime, alongside unlawful possession of identification documents.

The Act also provides the Federal Trade Commission with authority to track the number of incidents and

the dollar value of losses. There figures relate mainly to consumer financial crimes and not the broader

range of all identification-based crimes.[5] Punishments for the unlawful use of a "means of

identification" were strengthened in s.1028a, allowing for a consecutive sentence under specific

conditions of a felony violation defined in s. 1028c.

If used to commit another crime in the commission of identity theft in the United States (if charged

federally) include:

* Class B Felony: 6-20 years in Jail and a fine up to $10,000
* Class C Felony: 2-8 years in Jail and a fine up to $10,000

If charges are brought by state or local law enforcement agencies, different penalties apply depending

on the state.

[edit] UK

In the United Kingdom personal data is protected by the Data Protection Act. The Act covers all personal

data which an organization may hold, including names, birthday and anniversary dates, addresses,

telephone numbers, etc.

Under English law (which extends to Wales but not necessarily to Northern Ireland or Scotland), the

deception offenses under the Theft Act 1968 increasingly contend with identity theft situations. In R v

Seward (2005) EWCA Crim 1941[6] the defendant was acting as the "front man" in the use of stolen credit

cards and other documents to obtain goods. He obtained goods to the value of £10,000 for others who are

unlikely ever to be identified. The Court of Appeal considered sentencing policy for deception offenses

involving "identity theft" and concluded that a prison sentence was required. Henriques J. said at para

14:"Identity fraud is a particularly pernicious and prevalent form of dishonesty calling for, in our

judgment, deterrent sentences."

[edit] Australia

In Australia, privacy law is the responsibility of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.[7]

[edit] France

In France, a person convicted of identity theft can be sentenced up to 5 years in prison and fined up to

€75,000.[1]

[edit] Techniques for obtaining information

* Stealing mail or rummaging through rubbish (dumpster diving)
* Stealing payment or identification cards or the information on them (pickpocketing, "drive-by"

scanning of RF-enabled cards/tags)
* Eavesdropping on public transactions to obtain personal data (shoulder surfing)
* Stealing personal information in computer databases (Trojan horses, hacking)
* Infiltration of organizations that store large amounts of personal information
* Impersonating a trusted organization in an electronic communication (phishing)
* Obtaining castings of fingers for falsifying fingerprint identification.
* browsing social network (MySpace, Facebook, Bebo etc) sites, online for personal details that have

been posted by users
* Simply researching about the victim in government registers, at the internet, Google, and so on.

[edit] Spread and impact

Surveys in the USA from 2003 to 2006 showed a decrease in the total number of victims but an increase in

the total value of identity fraud to US$56.6 billion in 2006. The average fraud per person rose from

$5,249 in 2003 to $6,383 in 2006.[8]

The 2003 survey from the Identity Theft Resource Center found that :

* Only 15% of victims find out about the theft through proactive action taken by a business
* The average time spent by victims resolving the problem is about 40 hours
* 73% of respondents indicated the crime involved the thief acquiring a credit card
* The emotional impact is similar to that of victims of violent crimes

In a widely publicized account,[9] Michelle Brown, a victim of identity fraud, testified before a U.S.

Senate Committee Hearing on Identity Theft. Ms. Brown testified that: "over a year and a half from

January 1998 through July 1999, one individual impersonated me to procure over $50,000 in goods and

services. Not only did she damage my credit, but she escalated her crimes to a level that I never truly

expected: she engaged in drug trafficking. The crime resulted in my erroneous arrest record, a warrant

out for my arrest, and eventually, a prison record when she was booked under my name as an inmate in the

Chicago Federal Prison."

In Australia, identity theft was estimated to be worth between AUS$1billion and AUS$4 billion per annum

in 2001.[10]

In the United Kingdom the Home Office reported that identity fraud costs the UK economy £1.7 billion[11]

although privacy groups object to the validity of these numbers, arguing that they are being used by the

government to push for introduction of national ID cards. [citation needed] Confusion over exactly what

constitutes identity theft has led to claims that statistics may be exaggerated.[12]

[edit] Cultural references
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The public fascination with impostors has long had an effect on popular culture and extends to modern

literature.

* The story of Michelle Brown has been made into a film.[13]

* In Frederick Forsyth's novel The Day of the Jackal the would-be assassin of General de Gaulle

steals three identities. Firstly, he assumes the identity of a dead child by obtaining the child's birth

certificate and using it to apply for a passport. He also steals the passports of a Danish clergyman and

an American tourist, and disguises himself as each of those persons in turn.

* In the 1995 movie The Net, Sandra Bullock plays a computer consultant whose life is taken over

with the help of computer assisted identity theft.

* In Jonathan Smith's novel Night Windows the action is based on the horrific and real life theft of

Smith's own identity.

* In the webcomic Kevin and Kell the character Danielle Kindle dies and is later "replaced" by a

double from a parallel world. After an attempt at taking over her predecessor's identity, Danielle

Kendall confesses her true nature and gets accepted by the predecessor's family - if not by all the

readers.

* T. Coraghessan Boyle's 2006 novel Talk Talk describes the theft of Dana Halter's identity, and her

and Martin Bridger's chase of the thief across the country.

* In Susan Schaab's novel Wearing the Spider a female attorney gets caught in a web of sexual

harassment, identity theft and political intrigue.