Identity Theft Fact Sheet
Identity Theft is a Crime
- The
Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 makes it a federal
crime when someone “knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority,
a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to
aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal
law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable state or local
law.”
The
Statistics
- The
most prevalent form of ID theft is credit card fraud. Forty-two percent of
victims reported credit card fraud in 2001. In over two-thirds of credit
fraud ID theft cases, thieves had set up new credit card accounts in the
victims’ names. (http://www.ftc.gov/os/2002/03/idthefttest.htm)
- Larger
states traditionally have the highest number of identity theft victims:
Consumers from California, New York, Texas, Florida, and Illinois reported
the crime most often to the FTC. (http://www.ftc.gov/os/2002/03/idthefttest.htm)
- The District of Columbia
leads the nation in ID theft victims per capita, with 77 victims per
100,000. California and Nevada follow with 45 and 41 victims, respectively.
(GAO Report
# GAO-02-363)
Costs of Identity Theft
- 2,633
victims said they lost money or paid out-of-pocket as a result of identity
theft. (GAO Report #
GAO-02-363).
- Credit
card fraud related to identity theft cost companies $1.1 billion in 2000. (GAO
Report #
GAO-02-363)
- In
almost 1,300 complaints reported to the FTC, identity theft victims said
that they had been subjected to “criminal investigation, arrest, or
conviction.” (GAO Report
# GAO-02-363)
Home
| News | Join
NCL | Archives | Child Labor | Fraud
| Email Us |