Federal Laws: Criminal

The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, enacted by Congress in October 1998 (and codified, in part, at 18 U.S.C. §1028) makes identity theft a federal crime.

Under federal criminal law, identity theft takes place when someone “knowingly transfers, possesses or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, or in connection with, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable stat or local law.”

Under this definition, a name or Social Security number is considered a “means of identification.” So is a credit card number, cellular telephone electronic serial number, or any other piece of information that may be used alone or in conjunction with other information to identify a specific individual.

Violations of the federal crime are investigated by federal law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General. Federal identity theft cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

For the purposes of the law, the FCRA defines identity theft to apply to consumers and businesses.

In 2004, Congress passed the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act. This act established a mandatory two year minimum sentence to be served in addition to the sentence that the person was already sentenced to for aggravated identity theft.

 

Back to Top

Hot Links

What is phishing?

Use Our Materials In Your Community

Watch the video

The President's Identity Theft Task Force

File a Complaint with the FTC

2006 Identity Theft Survey Report

Test Your Knowledge about Identity Theft - Take the OnGuard Online Quiz