Identity Theft

Identity Theft Laws

Federal identity theft laws in the US are enormously complex. Numerous identity theft laws at both the federal and state levels may be applicable in cases of identity theft, identity fraud, and related crimes. The single most specific federal identity theft law is the 1998 Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. This identity theft law criminalized identity theft as a stand-alone crime and enacted stiff federal penalties. In addition to the federal identity theft laws, 44 states have statutes dealing specifically with identity theft, and three other have similar identity theft laws pending. In addition to these specific identity theft laws, numerous other provisions in both federal and state law may also apply in cases of identity theft or identity fraud.

Victims of identity theft may have remedies under both federal and state identity theft laws. Therefore both levels of the system need to be addressed for a complete view of identity theft laws. The federal government has taken the lead in identity theft laws and many of the most important actors in creating and enforcing identity theft laws are working in the federal government.

At the federal level, there are numerous identity theft laws that deal with components of the identity theft problem. Even if they do not recognize identity theft or attempt to address it as a stand-alone criminal activity, the precursors to the recent identity theft laws play an important role in setting the stage for the current identity theft law picture.

Federal efforts to combat identity theft or components of the crime include the 1974 Privacy Act, the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Federal Trace Commission Act, the bank fraud statute, the Social Security fraud statute, the credit card fraud statute, and the Electronic Funds Transfers Act.

Congress took the first major step toward protecting privacy and preventing identity theft with a statute intended to protect the private information of individuals. By enacting the Privacy Act of 1974 Congress attempted specifically to protect "nonpublic personal information." The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, passed in 1999, contains numerous provisions that significantly modify the notice requirements that must be met by financial institutions before they can share "private" customer information with other institutions. The state purpose of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act is to enhance competition in the financial services industry by providing a prudential framework for the affiliation of banks, security firms, and other financial service providers, and for other purposes.

The reaction to the growing national problem of criminal identity theft combined with technological advances that facilitate criminals in committing identity theft has been specifically addressed in federal identity theft laws. The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 prohibits knowingly and unlawfully possessing and or using the identification information of another person. For the most egregious offenses involving possession of false identification such as facilitating international terrorism, punishment ranges to a maximum of 25 years imprisonment. For less momentous criminal uses of identity, the punishments can include a fine or imprisonment for up to a year.