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Federal Law
The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act,
enacted by Congress in October 1998 (and codified, in part, at 18
U.S.C. §1028) makes identity theft a federal crime.
Under federal criminal law, identity theft takes
place when someone "knowingly transfers, possesses or uses, without
lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with
the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, or in connection with, any
unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law, or
that constitutes a felony under any applicable state or local law."
Under this definition, a name or Social Security
number is considered a "means of identification." So is a credit
card number, cellular telephone electronic serial number, or any
other piece of information that may be used alone or in conjunction
with other information to identify a specific individual.
Violations of the federal crime are investigated by
federal law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service,
the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Social Security
Administration's Office of the Inspector General. Federal identity
theft cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
For the purposes of the law, the FCRA defines
identity theft to apply to consumers and businesses.
State Laws
Many states have passed laws making identity theft a
crime or providing help in recovery from identity theft; others are
considering such legislation. Where specific criminal identity theft
laws do not exist, the practices may be prohibited under other laws.
You can contact your state Attorney General (for a list of state offices,
visit
www.naag.org) or local consumer protection agency for more
information
related to local identity theft laws, or visit
www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
Or you can visit our
resource page for your State - Click
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