Laws on Identity Theft

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing and most heinous crimes in the United States and the world. This crime targets every aspect of your finances, including your bank accounts, credit cards and credit standing. If your identity is stolen it can literally take you years to undo the damage.

Because of the speed at which identity theft is growing, many laws have been implemented at the state and federal level in the U.S. in order to combat this problem. In fact, former President George W. Bush signed the Identity Theft Penalty Act into law in 2004. This law provides severe penalties for anyone participating in this type of crime and widens the definitions of what constitutes identity theft.

At the federal level, the Identity Theft Penalty Act changed the severity of the penalties associated with identity theft. Prior to this act’s inception, many of the punishments were low-level fines or probation and community service. Current penalties now include federal prison time and what was formerly a misdemeanor is now a felony.

Some of the penalties include an increase in the length of the maximum sentence to five years. If phishing is part of the crime, the sentence is automatically increased by two more years. One portion of the act includes a new crime - aggravated identity theft. By definition, this crime includes acts of terrorism, mail fraud and immigration fraud. This part of the law allows prosecutors more latitude with how an identity thief can be charged. The Identity Theft Penalty Act of 2004 also includes laws and penalties for abuse of power and terrorism.

Many states have their own laws and penalties for identity theft and while these laws are different in each state, they generally include stiff penalties for the crimes. In most cases the basic penalties for those who commit these acts include compensation for loss to the victim, plus damages. Fines and prison time are also included and can range from $50,000 to $100,000 and a minimum sentence of ten years.

Hopefully, with the implementation of these laws and the penalties that go with them, the growing trend of identity theft will be abated.