A diamond studded tennis bracelet, a set of wedding rings,
a camcorder, and more rang up on the cash registers of Indianapolis
retailers. All of these purchases were charged to the credit cards
of Lynette Vandenberg. Hundreds of miles away in a small New York
town was Ms. Vandenberg, who had no idea that $7,000 worth of
merchandise was being purchased using her credit. It didn't take
long to realize that her identity had been stolen by someone who
had moved into the Indianapolis apartment she had vacated some
time ago. The woman simply filled out and sent in a pre-approved
credit card application she discovered in her mailbox that had
been addressed to Ms. Vandenberg. Seven thousand dollars later...
This can easily happen to anyone. It is a phenomenon known as
"identity theft", and it is one of the fastest growing
consumer credit crimes today. In an increasingly cashless society,
identity theft has become almost the perfect crime, called by
some " a 90's kind of crime". The rapid growth of the
crime results from the ease in which people can commit the crime
and the low risk of being apprehended and prosecuted. It is so
common and easy that "a moron could commit identity theft."
Identity theft is a vibrant and growing criminal enterprise.
Consumer advocates have called it the "easiest crime"
simply because we live in a society where cash is seldom carried
and most wallets are filled with plastic. By posing as someone
else, thieves have found that they can steal in a way that leaves
victims powerless and police uninterested.
It is difficult to say just how widespread identity theft is because
there is no standard definition of the crime. However, sometime
around 1994, the number of complaints to government, business,
and consumer groups began to explode. Credit reporting firms say
fraud inquiries have soared from less than 12,000 annually in
1992 to more than 500,000 today. The biggest problem with statistics
on identity theft is that it can go for years and years before
being detected.
Identity theft encompasses a variety of different crimes - credit
card fraud, stealing someone's ATM card, using someone's Social
Security number, or confiscating someone's driver's license. Then
they use this information to buy everything from cars to toys,
leaving the person's credit rating in ruins. Imposters have even
been known to commit crimes, then give their fake identity to
police when they're arrested.
Several states, such as California, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Georgia, and Arizona, have enacted identity theft statutes. These statutes are making the crime a felony. Congress just recently voted on a bill which makes identity theft a federal felony, punishable by up to fifteen years in prison. Another bill introduced this fall would give consumers more control over who has access to personal information, such as Social Security numbers.
However, in many states, including Virginia, stealing someone's identity is still the prefect crime because there is little that can be done to prosecute it. These states simply do not have any separate statutes addressing identity theft. Virginia has provisions on obtaining a birth certificate under false pretenses, credit card fraud, forgery, etc. but no provisions or recourse for identity theft. The crime is prevalent nationwide and the consequences of it are immense. Shouldn't Virginia be acting on this soon?< H2>
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