Identity Theft on the Rise

According to the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft is the most common complaint from consumers in all fifty states, and complaints regarding identity theft have grown for three consecutive years. Victims of identity theft may incur damaged credit records, unauthorised charges on credit cards, and unauthorised withdrawals from bank accounts. Sometimes, victims must change their telephone numbers or even their Social Security numbers. Victims may also need to change addresses that were falsified by the impostor. This report provides an overview of the federal laws that could assist victims of identity theft with purging inaccurate information from their credit records and removing unauthorised charges from credit accounts, as well as federal laws that impose criminal penalties on those who assume another person’s identity through the use of fraudulent identification documents.