Identity Theft: Trends and Issues

Abstract

In the wake of the economic downturn, policymakers are increasingly concerned with securing the economic health of the United States-including combating those crimes that threaten to further undermine the nation?s financial stability. Identity theft is one such crime. It is the fastest growing type of fraud in the United States; in 2009 about 11.1 million Americans were reportedly victims of identity theft, an increase of about 12% from the number of cases in 2008. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that it costs consumers about $50 billion annually. Identity theft is often committed to facilitate other crimes such as credit card fraud, document fraud, or employment fraud, which in turn can affect not only the nation's economy but its security. Consequently, in securing the nation and its economic health, policymakers are also tasked with reducing identity theft and its impact. Congress continues to debate the federal government?s role in (1) preventing identity theft and its related crimes, (2) mitigating the potential effects of identity theft after it occurs, and (3) providing the most effective tools to investigate and prosecute identity thieves. With respect to preventing identity theft, one issue concerning policymakers is the prevalence of personally identifiable information?and in particular, the prevalence of social security numbers (SSNs)?in both the private and public sectors. One policy option to reduce their prevalence may involve restricting the use of SSNs on government-issued documents such as Medicare identification cards. Another option could entail providing federal agencies with increased regulatory authority to curb the prevalence of SSN use in the private sector. In debating policies to mitigate the effects of identity theft, one option Congress may consider is whether to strengthen data breach notification requirements.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 27, 2010
Accession Number
ADA522203

Entities

People

  • Kristin M. Finklea

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Cyber

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biometric Security
  • Commerce
  • Congress
  • Crime
  • Criminals
  • Data Leakages
  • Employment
  • Federal Law
  • Governments
  • Health Care
  • Homeland Security
  • Information Security
  • Law
  • Money
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • United States

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.