NCJ Number
205474
Date Published
June 2002
Length
72 pages
Annotation
This report reviews Federal and State efforts to address identity theft, the fastest growing crime in the United States.
Abstract
Specifically, this report examines law enforcement efforts under the Federal Identity Theft Act; law enforcement efforts under similar State statutes; the means used to facilitate cooperation and coordination among Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies; and actions taken by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to resolve social security number (SSN) misuse alleged during fiscal year 1999. Data, collected from July 2001 through May 2002, included interviews with officials, documents from the Department of Justice (DOJ), case reviews of cases prosecuted under the Federal Identity Theft Act; and a review of local law enforcement efforts in 10 States: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. Analysis of the data indicates that there are no comprehensive data available for the use of the Federal Identity Act or for the use of relevant State statutes. Interview data suggest that the Federal Identity Act is being utilized by Federal prosecutors and is considered useful because of the broad jurisdiction and other tools it provides for combating white-collar or financial crimes. A review of relevant cases suggest that identity theft is rarely prosecuted on its own, but is typically a component of other white-collar crimes. State data indicate that some law enforcement officers are unaware of the importance of taking reports of identity theft. Moreover, limited local resources are available for combating identity theft and, in general, the cross-jurisdictional nature of identity theft promotes the opinion that these crimes are “someone else’s problem.” These results, coupled with the cross-jurisdictional nature and prevalence of identity theft, make the promotion of cooperation among Federal, State, and local law enforcement a high priority. Concerning SSA and OIG actions to combat identity theft, in 1999 the agencies received approximately 62,000 allegations of identity theft and investigations were opened on 4,636 cases. Criminal convictions were returned in 1,347 cases. Interview data indicated that SSA does not have enough investigators to address all SSN misuse allegations. It is recommended that the Attorney General direct the Identity Theft Subcommittee to promote greater awareness and use of the Consumer Sentinel Network and the Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse. Appendix