Crime has moved yet another step forward in its unyielding progression through society. Now it is identity theft. Trying to combat both legal and illegal theft continues to occupy a large portion of the average citizen's life. Identity theft or identity fraud generally involves 'stealing' another person's personal identifying information -- such as Social Security number (SSN), date of birth, and mother's maiden name -- and then using the information to fraudulently establish credit, run up debt, or take over existing financial accounts. This new book examines the extent of the problem, its costs and remedies under the law. CONTENTS: Preface; Identity Theft: Prevalence and Cost Appear to be Growing; Awareness and Use of Existing Data on Identity Theft; Remedies Available to Victims of Identity Theft; Identity Theft and the Fair Credit Reporting Act; Subject Index.

Reviews Fed. and state efforts to address identity theft, which has been characterized by law enforcement (LE) as the fastest growing type of crime in the U.S. Provides info. on: LE results (such as examples of prosecutions and convictions) under the Fed. Identity Theft Act; LE results under state statutes that, similar to the Fed. act, provide state and local LE officials with the tools to prosecute and convict identity theft criminals; the means used to promote cooperation or coordination among Fed., state, and local LE agencies in addressing identity theft crimes that span multiple jurisdictions; and actions taken by the U.S. Social Security Admin. to resolve Social Security Number misuse and other identity theft-related allegations received during FY 1999.

Although a relatively new crime, identity theft has dramatically increased in occurrence and severity since the early 1990s. By definition, identity theft is the obtainment and fraudulent use of another person's personal information, which can be relatively innocuous or much more serious. A talented criminal can take another individual's social security number, credit card information, checks, or other personal information, and use that information to impersonate the individual, manipulating a system that increasingly relies on nonpersonal identifiers. The political, legal, and criminal justice systems are struggling to catch up with the identity theft epidemic, while struggling with the technology that gives rise to it.