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Ways The Id Theft Deterrence Act Can Aid Victims Of Fraudulent Activity

According to studies done by Gartner Inc only one in seven hundred people who commit identity theft are ever caught and brought to justice. In Oregon recently it seems like they may have caught the one.

The Associated Press reported that one identity thief showed up at a local bank in order to cash another fraudulent check. What makes this story so bizarre is the thief was caught by the person he had been victimizing. It seems that person was there at the exact time disputing the bogus charges showing up on his financial statement.

Unfortunately for most victims of identity theft the chances of coming face to face with the actual thief are slim and at best and non-existent at worst. Identity theft and fraud affects eight to nine million people every single year. While certain forms of identity theft like check fraud are on the decline the same cannot be said for other types like phishing websites which have seen a sharp increase. In fact technological advances have made identity fraud that much easier.

For instance cell phone users may be feeling the pinch thanks to downloading certain applications which have the capability of stealing any personal information you may have stored (like online banking logins and passwords)and routing it to a remote server where identity thieves are waiting to record the information.

The good thing is there are resources out there which the consumer has at his or her’s disposal. In 1998 The U.S Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. This law made identity fraud a federal crime and with this comes tougher punishment when identity theft criminals are caught and found guilty.

Aside from that it put the Federal Trade Commission commonly referred to as the FTC at the vanguard of fighting identity fraud. The FTC and in particular their internet site is chock full of info including prevention, video clips and news updates. Over the past ten years they’ve performed an exceptional job in their efforts to teach the public on exactly how engraved this particular crime has become in our society as well as the steps needed to protect from it.

A major component was the development of the Identity Theft Clearinghouse data source. This is an online repository built to assist local and federal law enforcement officials. All complaints regarding identity theft are automatically recorded into the data bank which is updated constantly.

One final thing this law has done to aid consumers with whatever credit problem they may be experiencing due to identity theft. Although they are fully aware you have been the victim of identity fraud credit agencies for reasons all their own are slow moving with regards to removing it from your personal records. This action may get speeded up if you have the federal government backing you up.