FTC Report on ID Theft Shows Need for Stronger Consumer Protections

A new report released by the Federal Trade Commission today estimates that 8.3 million Americans fell victim to identity theft in 2005. The report underscores the need to provide consumers with stronger protections against identity fraud, according to Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.

"Identity theft is a huge headache that continues to plague millions of Americans every year," says Gail Hillebrand, director of Consumers Union's Financial Privacy Now campaign. "It's time to require businesses and government agencies to safeguard sensitive personal data and to give
consumers the protection they need."

While the FTC's estimate of identity theft victims is lower than its 2003 report, the agency noted that the decline was not statistically significant. The FTC found that 37 percent of identity theft victims reported that they experienced problems beyond the time and money spent
recovering from the fraud, such as harassment by debt collectors and denial of new credit. Sixty-eight percent of new account fraud victims reported experiencing these kinds of problems. The report found that nearly one-quarter of new account fraud victims did not find out about the misuse of their information until at least six months after it started.

As of Nov. 1, consumers nationwide have the ability to thwart new account fraud by freezing access to their credit files. Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws requiring credit reporting agencies to allow consumers to protect their credit files with a security freeze. The credit reporting agencies are now making this safeguard available to consumers in the remaining states.

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Center for Identity Management and Information Protection to Release Landmark Study

On Monday (Oct. 22), Utica College's Center for Identify Management and Information Protection (CIMIP) will release the results of a landmark study of closed U.S. Secret Service cases involving identity theft.

The study, which will reveal new findings about identity theft perpetrators, victims, and methods, marks the first time the U.S. Secret Service has allowed review of its closed case files on identity theft and fraud. The research will be of particular value to government, law
enforcement and corporate entities whose mission is to prevent, detect, investigate or prosecute identity theft crimes, says Gary Gordon, executive director of CIMIP and professor of economic crime at Utica College. Information on insider threats, points of compromise, and vulnerabilities will be of specific interest to chief security and chief information officers across many industries, including financial services and retail corporations, Gordon says.

The results will be released at the 18th annual ECI Conference. This year's event, "Identity Management and Information Protection: Research to Action" will be held October 21-23 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Tysons Corner, McLean, Va.

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Protect Yourself -- Check Your Credit

You may not be thinking of buying a new car, new home or other major purchase -- yet.

But when the time comes, you'll want the most accurate, up to date information on your credit report score. A better credit score will translate to a lower interest rate -- and a lower monthly payment.


Keep your credit score clean and accurate and it will certainly be worth your while.


PictureCredit will be your total online credit resource. First, go online to get your free credit report and score.


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They can supply you with a free -- yes free -- credit repair kit. Did you know 80% of credit reports contain errors? Check and fix your credit report for mistakes right away.


Also, identity theft should be a concern today. A criminal can hijack your good credit and leave you high and dry. PictureCredit offers help to prevent identity theft as well.


Visit PictureCredit right away to protect you and your family.

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Video: Teens Fall Victim To Identity Theft

A growing number of teens are falling victim to the pernicious, digital age crime of identity theft.

Watch how teens are falling prey and how you and your teens can avoid this trap.

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Brother, Sister Sentenced In ID Theft Scheme

A brother and sister from Dorchester, Mass., were sentenced in federal court for bank fraud, identity theft and witness tampering.

United States Attorney Michael Sullivan and Peter Zegarac, postal inspector in charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, announced that Alvin Reeves, 29, and his sister, Alvenia Reeves, 44, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro as a result of their August 14, 2006, guilty pleas to charges of bank fraud, identity theft and witness tampering.

Alvin Reeves also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and committing a crime while on pretrial release. Alvin Reeves was sentenced to five years in prison; and Alvenia Reeves to one year and three months in prison.

At the earlier plea hearing, the prosecutor told the court that had the case proceeded to trial, the government's evidence would have proven that from November 7, 2003 (the date that Alvin Reeves was released from federal prison after a prior conviction) through September 15, 2004, Alvin Reeves obtained the names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, mothers' maiden names, credit card number and/or bank account information of numerous people.

The defendants then used this information to create fake licenses with the victims' identity information and the photographs of co-conspirators. The defendants directed the co-conspirators to enter banks and withdraw money or otherwise conduct banking activity in the victims' names. In addition, the defendants stole checks and had co-conspirators cash these stolen checks and withdraw the proceeds from area banks. After Alvin Reeves was arrested in connection with this scheme, the defendants contacted some of the co-conspirators and attempted to convince them to testify that a person other than Alvin Reeves was the leader of the bank fraud andidentity fraud scheme. In total, this scheme resulted in a loss or intended loss of more than $200,000.

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Survey: 2 of 5 Identity Theft Victims Know Source of Crime

Two out of five identity theft victims surveyed by the Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC) know how their personal data was stolen, providing valuable insight about how identity theft occurs.

"This information is important because the more we know about the sources of identity theft the more successful we all will be in fighting this crime," says ITAC Executive Director Anne Wallace. "These documented cases provide real world perspective on identity theft."

ITAC surveyed 275 identity theft victims who used the ITAC's free service over a one-month period. Of the 275 cases, 160 consumers (58%) did not know the source of their identity theft. Another 115 consumers (42%) did know how their information was compromised. The 115 consumers attributed their identity theft to the following sources:

-- Friends, relatives, in-home employees 26 cases 22.61%
-- Computer hacker/virus/phishing 25 cases 21.74%
-- Mail (stolen or fraudulent address change) 24 cases 20.87%
-- Lost/stolen wallet, checkbook or credit card 15 cases 13.04%
-- Corrupt business or employee 12 cases 10.43%
-- Data breach 8 cases 6.96%
-- House burglarized 4 cases 3.48%
-- Instant credit 1 case 0.87%

Getting accurate information about the sources of identity theft is difficult because identity theft -- the opening of a fraudulent new account or account takeover -- is often confused with other types of fraud, like the unauthorized use of a credit card, accoding to ITAC.

ITAC says it is in a unique position to gatherdata about identity theft because it deals in verified cases of identity theft. The companies that belong to ITAC refer customers to ITAC once thefraud is resolved at the member company. ITAC then helps the customer identify other fraudulent accounts and assists in restoring their financial identity.


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