The President's Identity Theft Task Force: Combating Identity Theft a Strategic Plan

Abstract

From Main Street to Wall Street, from the back porch to the front office, from the kitchen table to the conference room, Americans are talking about identity theft. The reason: millions of Americans each year suffer the financial and emotional trauma it causes. This crime takes many forms, but it invariably leaves victims with the task of repairing the damage to their lives. It is a problem with no single cause and no single solution. Eight years ago, Congress enacted the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act,1 which created the federal crime of identity theft and charged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with taking complaints from identity theft victims, sharing these complaints with federal, state, and local law enforcement, and providing the victims with information to help them restore their good name. Since then, federal, state, and local agencies have taken strong action to combat identity theft. The FTC has developed the Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse into a vital resource for consumers and law enforcement agencies; the Department of Justice (DOJ) has prosecuted vigorously a wide range of identity theft schemes under the identity theft statutes and other laws; the federal financial regulatory agencies2 have adopted and enforced robust data security standards for entities under their jurisdiction; Congress passed, and the Department of Homeland Security issued draft regulations on, the REAL ID Act of 2005; and numerous other federal agencies, such as the Social Security Administration (SSA), have educated consumers on avoiding and recovering from identity theft. Many private sector entities, too, have taken proactive and significant steps to protect data from identity thieves, educate consumers about how to prevent identity theft, assist law enforcement in apprehending identity thieves, and assist identity theft victims who suffer losses.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 11, 2007
Accession Number
ADA467064

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Authentication
  • Business Administration
  • Commerce
  • Computer Crime
  • Congress
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Employment
  • Homeland Security
  • Information Security
  • Information Systems
  • Law Enforcement Officers
  • Management Personnel
  • Money
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Undocumented Noncitizens

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Government and Public Administration Law.