ID Theft convictions rise by 26 percent

A TASK FORCE formed by the president of the former UK colony of Virginia, said that identity theft convictions had increased 26 percent in 2007 during the last year.

The "Identity Theft Task Force Report", prepared for President Bush in large friendly letters, said that 1,534 people were convicted in 2006, and a year later, 1,943 were convicted nationwide on various identity theft violations.

However the report said that despite the fact that more people were banged up for the crime, there were more than 1.6 million complaints of identity theft on file with the Federal Trade Commission.

The report said that the profiles, purposes, and methods of the perpetrators are continually changing.

It said that ID theft could be the product of organised crime rings in the US and abroad using increasingly sophisticated technologies, such as installing malicious software, phishing, spoofing, and database hacking.

The 70-page document also includes 31 recommendations to combat identity theft. Among the ideas are a reduction in the use of Social Security numbers in the public and private sectors, more law enforcement training and better cooperation between the states and with other nations.

It also wants a National Identity Theft Law Enforcement Centre created that can provide victims of identity theft with a so-called passport to prove they are who they say they are. µ

L'Inq
Wired