Identity Theft

THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’S EFFORTS TO COMBAT IDENTITY THEFT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 made identity theft a federal crime. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and its components, particularly the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and United States Attorneys’ Offices (USAO), along with many other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, play a vital role in combating this crime through the investigation and prosecution of identity thieves. DOJ’s non-law enforcement components also play an important part in combating identity theft. For example, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) funds programs that assist identity theft victims and OJP’s Bureau of Justice Statistics compiles identity theft-related statistics.

According to recent estimates, identity theft is a growing problem. A Federal Trade Commission report estimated that 8.3 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2005, resulting in losses of $15.6 billion. In June 2009, a Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Criminal Division testified that a more recent estimate suggested that identity theft was the fastest growing crime in 2008, victimizing more than 10 million Americans.

According to DOJ personnel, federal identity theft investigations most often relate to other federal crimes such as cyber intrusions, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, and credit card fraud. Identity theft can also be a significant element of violent crimes, such as domestic abuse and even terrorism, and a significant number of identity theft-related crimes originate overseas.

In recognition of the harm caused by identity theft, President George W. Bush signed an executive order on May 10, 2006, creating the President’s Identity Theft Task Force (President’s Task Force). The purpose of the President’s Task Force was to “use federal resources effectively to deter, prevent, detect, investigate, proceed against, and prosecute unlawful use by persons of the identifying information of other persons.” The President’s Task Force was chaired by the Attorney General, with the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission serving as the co-chair.

In April 2007, the President’s Task Force issued a strategic plan that made recommendations to federal agencies involved in combating identity theft, including DOJ and some of its components. The President’s Task Force later issued a follow-up report in September 2008 detailing its efforts to ensure that the recommendations of the strategic plan were implemented. The follow-up report stated that much of the work recommended by the Task Force had been completed and described some efforts that were still ongoing.

The Associate Deputy Attorney General who served as the Office of the Deputy Attorney General’s point of contact to the President’s Task Force told us that the September 2008 report was the Task Force’s final report and the Task Force had no plans to reconvene.

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http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/plus/a1021.pdf