Two Laws Concerning Identity Theft Put into Effect

For over ten yes identity theft has been a serious crime which has affected millions of Americans every year and has prompted the implementation of laws concerning identity theft. Identity theft is the taking of another’s identity usually for financial gain or to use it for other benefits such as getting out of debt or hiding from the law.

Victims of this type of crime often suffer gravely and are often held responsible for the acts committed by the person behind the scam. Laws concerning identity theft have been put into place which makes it a crime to steal another person’s identity for personal gain.

Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act

The United States Congress began taking identity theft seriously in when they passed the one of these laws concerning identity theft in October of 1998 called the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act.

This piece of legislation made it a crime when someone knowingly and willingly uses another person’s identification without their consent for personal gain. Under this Act a person’s name, birth certificate or Social Security Number is considered a means of identification. As well as credit card numbers, driver’s license, cellular telephone numbers, computers and any other type of information that can be used to identify a person.

People who commit identity theft and who are convicted can face a fine or up to a maximum prison sentence of 15 to 30 years. The law also makes it a crime to aid or abet anyone who has stolen someone’s personal information.

The Identity Theft Penalty Act

In the year 2003 there was a sharp increase in the number of people conducting personal business online such as banking and shopping that it caused a dramatic increase in identity theft crimes which prompted the creation of The Identity Theft Penalty Act.

In 2004 another one of the laws concerning identity theft was signed by President Bush. It was a groundbreaking measure in the prosecution of identity theft because the way these crimes were punished was forever changed. The degree of punishment increased from 3 years to a maximum of 5 years in a federal prison. Plus the level of the crime rose from a misdemeanor to a felony.

There were amendments made to this act which included an additional two years for internet phishing scams and the Aggravated Identity Theft which meant when a person commits a crime using identity theft such as mail fraud or acts of terrorism that they could be charged with Aggravated Identity Theft and with identity theft. For the charge of Aggravated Identity Theft two years would be added to their sentence.