U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

www.cops.usdoj.gov

Identity Theft

by Graeme R. Newman

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

Problem-Specific Guides Series No. 25
www.PopCenter.org

Got a Problem? We’ve got answers!

Log onto the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing website

at www.popcenter.org for a wealth of information to help

you deal more effectively with crime and disorder in your

community, including:

• Web-enhanced versions of all currently available Guides

• Interactive training exercises

• On-line access to research and police practices

Designed for police and those who work with them to

address community problems, www.popcenter.org is a great

resource in problem-oriented policing.

Supported by the Office of Community Oriented Policing

Services, U.S. Department of Justice.

Center for Problem-Oriented Policing
Identity Theft

Graeme R. Newman

This project was supported by cooperative agreement

#2002CKWX0003 by the Office of Community Oriented Policing

Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained herein

are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the

official position of the U.S. Department of Justice.

www.cops.usdoj.gov

ISBN: 1-932582-35-5

June 2004

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

Problem-Specific Guides Series

Guide No. 25

About the Problem-Specific Guides Series i

About the Problem-Specific Guides Series

The Problem-Specific Guides summarize knowledge about

how police can reduce the harm caused by specific crime

and disorder problems. They are guides to prevention and

to improving the overall response to incidents, not to

investigating offenses or handling specific incidents. The

guides are written for police–of whatever rank or

assignment–who must address the specific problem the

guides cover. The guides will be most useful to officers

who

• Understand basic problem-oriented policing

principles and methods. The guides are not primers in

problem-oriented policing. They deal only briefly with

the initial decision to focus on a particular problem,

methods to analyze the problem, and means to assess

the results of a problem-oriented policing project. They

are designed to help police decide how best to analyze

and address a problem they have already identified. (An

assessment guide has been produced as a companion to

this series and the COPS Office has also published an

introductory guide to problem analysis. For those who

want to learn more about the principles and methods of

problem-oriented policing, the assessment and analysis

guides, along with other recommended readings, are

listed at the back of this guide.)

• Can look at a problem in depth. Depending on the

complexity of the problem, you should be prepared to

spend perhaps weeks, or even months, analyzing and

responding to it. Carefully studying a problem before

responding helps you design the right strategy, one that

is most likely to work in your community. You should

not blindly adopt the responses others have used; you

must decide whether they are appropriate to your local

situation. What is true in one place may not be true
ii Identity Theft

elsewhere; what works in one place may not work

everywhere.

• Are willing to consider new ways of doing police

business. The guides describe responses that other

police departments have used or that researchers have

tested. While not all of these responses will be

appropriate to your particular problem, they should help

give a broader view of the kinds of things you could do.

You may think you cannot implement some of these

responses in your jurisdiction, but perhaps you can. In

many places, when police have discovered a more

effective response, they have succeeded in having laws

and policies changed, improving the response to the

problem.

• Understand the value and the limits of research

knowledge. For some types of problems, a lot of useful

research is available to the police; for other problems, little

is available. Accordingly, some guides in this series

summarize existing research whereas other guides illustrate

the need for more research on that particular problem.

Regardless, research has not provided definitive answers to

all the questions you might have about the problem. The

research may help get you started in designing your own

responses, but it cannot tell you exactly what to do. This

will depend greatly on the particular nature of your local

problem. In the interest of keeping the guides readable, not

every piece of relevant research has been cited, nor has

every point been attributed to its sources. To have done so

would have overwhelmed and distracted the reader. The

references listed at the end of each guide are those drawn

on most heavily; they are not a complete bibliography of

research on the subject.
About the Problem-Specific Guides Series iii

• Are willing to work with other community agencies

to find effective solutions to the problem. The police

alone cannot implement many of the responses

discussed in the guides. They must frequently implement

them in partnership with other responsible private and

public entities. An effective problem-solver must know

how to forge genuine partnerships with others and be

prepared to invest considerable effort in making these

partnerships work.

These guides have drawn on research findings and police

practices in the United States, the United Kingdom,

Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and

Scandinavia. Even though laws, customs and police

practices vary from country to country, it is apparent that

the police everywhere experience common problems. In a

world that is becoming increasingly interconnected, it is

important that police be aware of research and successful

practices beyond the borders of their own countries.

The COPS Office and the authors encourage you to

provide feedback on this guide and to report on your own

agency's experiences dealing with a similar problem. Your

agency may have effectively addressed a problem using

responses not considered in these guides and your

experiences and knowledge could benefit others. This

information will be used to update the guides. If you wish

to provide feedback and share your experiences it should

be sent via e-mail to cops_pubs@usdoj.gov.
iv Identity Theft

For more information about problem-oriented policing,

visit the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing online at

www.popcenter.org or via the COPS website at

www.cops.usdoj.gov. This website offers free online access to:

• the Problem-Specific Guides series,

• the companion Response Guides and Problem-Solving Tools

series,

• instructional information about problem-oriented policing

and related topics,

• an interactive training exercise, and

• online access to important police research and practices.
Acknowledgments v

Acknowledgments

The Problem-Oriented Guides for Police are very much a

collaborative effort. While each guide has a primary

author, other project team members, COPS Office staff

and anonymous peer reviewers contributed to each guide

by proposing text, recommending research and offering

suggestions on matters of format and style.

The principal project team developing the guide series

comprised Herman Goldstein, professor emeritus,

University of Wisconsin Law School; Ronald V. Clarke,

professor of criminal justice, Rutgers University; John E.

Eck, associate professor of criminal justice, University of

Cincinnati; Michael S. Scott, clinical assistant professor,

University of Wisconsin Law School; Rana Sampson,

police consultant, San Diego; and Deborah Lamm Weisel,

director of police research, North Carolina State

University.

Karin Schmerler, Rita Varano and Nancy Leach oversaw

the project for the COPS Office. Suzanne Fregly edited

the guides. Research for the guides was conducted at the

Criminal Justice Library at Rutgers University under the

direction of Phyllis Schultze.

The project team also wishes to acknowledge the members

of the San Diego, National City and Savannah police

departments who provided feedback on the guides' format

and style in the early stages of the project, as well as the

line police officers, police executives and researchers who

peer reviewed each guide.

Contents

About the Problem-Specific Guides Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

The Problem of Identity Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Related Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Harms Caused by Identity Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Sources of Identity Theft Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Factors Contributing to Identity Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Guardianship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Personal Guardianship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Agency Guardianship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

How Offenders Steal Identities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

How Offenders Use Stolen Identities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Types of Identity Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

High Commitment, for Financial Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Opportunistic, for Financial Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

High Commitment, for Concealment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Opportunistic, for Concealment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Understanding Your Local Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Asking the Right Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Incidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Offenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Locations/Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Current Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Measuring Your Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Contents vii
viii Identity Theft

Responses to the Problem of Identity Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

General Considerations for an Effective Response Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Specific Responses to Identity Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Victim Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Appendix A: Summary of Responses to Identity Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Appendix B: Selected Identity Theft Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Recommended Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
The Problem of Identity Theft 1

The Problem of Identity Theft

This guide addresses identity theft, describing the problem

and reviewing factors that increase the risks of it.† It then

identifies a series of questions to help you analyze your

local problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem,

and what is known about them from evaluative research

and police practice.

Identity theft is a new crime, facilitated through

established, underlying crimes such as forgery,

counterfeiting, check and credit card fraud, computer

fraud, impersonation, pickpocketing, and even terrorism.

It became a federal crime in the United States in 1998,

with the passage of the Identity Theft Assumption and

Deterrence Act.1 This act identifies offenders as anyone

who

...knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful

authority, any name or number that may be

used, alone or in conjunction with any other

information, to identify a specific individual

with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any

unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of

Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under

any applicable State or local law.

A significant feature of identity theft is the offender's

repeated victimization of a single person. This may

include repeatedly using a stolen credit card, taking over a

card account, or using stolen personal information to open

new accounts.††

† The term identity fraud is

sometimes used to include the whole

range of identity theft related crimes

(Economic Crime Institute 2003).

†† A victimization survey

conducted by the Federal Trade

Commission (FTC) found that 16

percent of victims whose credit

cards were misused said the people

responsible had also tried to "take

over" the accounts by doing such

things as changing the billing

address or adding themselves to the

card as an authorized user (Federal

Trade Commission 2003a).
2 Identity Theft

Congressional hearings on identity theft in the 1990s

revealed that police generally did not regard those whose

identities had been stolen as the true victims, since the

credit card companies took the financial loss. In addition,

the companies typically did not report their losses to local

police (or to anyone else, for that matter). Studies also

showed that victims rarely reported the loss or theft of a

card to the police, since they believed that the card

company would cover the loss. However, because the

repeated use of a victim's identity caused serious

disruption and emotional damage, more victims began to

report the offense.

It is likely that your initial exposure to identity theft will

be the request of a victim for a police report about the

incident. Credit-reporting agencies now require that

victims do so as part of the an "identity theft affidavit."

Until recently, victims had a hard time getting such reports

from the police. However, in response to growing media

coverage and congressional testimony concerning identity

theft, the International Association of Chiefs of Police

(IACP) adopted a resolution in 2000 urging all police

departments to provide incident reports and other

assistance to identity theft victims.† It is also possible that

people you have stopped or questioned have given you a

fake ID–or a legitimate ID acquired with a false or forged

document.

It is difficult, though not impossible, for local police to

influence some important factors that contribute to

identity theft. These concern:

† "WHEREAS, reports of identity

theft to local law enforcement

agencies are often handled with the

response 'please contact your credit

card company,' and often no official

report is created or maintained,

causing great difficulty in accounting

for and tracing these crimes, and

leaving the public with the

impression their local police

department does not care....

RESOLVED, that the International

Association of Chiefs of Police calls

upon all law enforcement agencies in

the United States to take more

positive actions in recording all

incidents of identity theft and

referring the victims to the Federal

Trade Commission..." (International

Association of Chiefs of Police

2000).
The Problem of Identity Theft 3

• the ways that businesses and government agencies

manage clients' personal information (for example, the

procedures your motor vehicle department uses to

authenticate driver's license applications); and 

• the policies and practices of financial institutions in

dealing with fraud (for example, the ease with which

they provide applicants with credit cards and

convenience checks).

That said, this guide will help you determine what you can

do to prevent identity theft and help victims in your

jurisdiction.

Related Problems 

The following problems are closely related to identity

theft, but not specifically addressed in this guide:

• Financial crimes against the elderly.†

• Various telemarketing and Internet scams.22

• Theft of autos and auto parts aided by fraudulent

documentation. As the effectiveness of car security has

increased in recent years, making cars more difficult to

steal, offenders have exploited weaknesses in

documentation systems that link cars to their owners,

including registration and owner's certificates, license

plates, and vehicle identification numbers.3

• Thefts from autos. Offenders commonly target wallets

and purses, and dispose of their contents for profit.

• Burglary. Burglaries of residences or businesses may

reward offenders with a wide range of personal and

business records that can be converted into loans or

bank accounts, or provide access to existing accounts.

† See the POP Guide on Financial

Crimes Against the Elderly.
4 Identity Theft

• Pickpocketing. Even if there is no credit card in a

wallet, or even if the victim notifies the credit card

issuer that a card has been stolen, the offender can use

the victim's driver's license or other personal

information to obtain a new card, or even establish

credit with banks. Health insurance cards commonly list

the holder's social security number as an identifier.

• Street robbery. Personal information and credit cards

are an important target of muggers, who may sell such

information and cards on the street.

• Counterfeiting and forgery. Offenders use the latest

technologies to reproduce credit cards, checks, driver's

licenses, passports, and other means of identification.

• Trafficking in human beings. Studies have found that

stolen identities and false documentation are essential

to successful international trafficking in prostitution

and other illegal labor markets.4

Harms Caused by Identity Theft

• The FTC states that nearly 5 percent of respondents to

its 2003 survey reported that they had been victims of

identity theft in the past year.5 This amounts to almost

15 million victims a year in the United States.

• The FTC reports that identity theft is the major subject

of consumer complaints it receives–42 percent of all

those received in 2003. Such complaints numbered

214,905, up 33 percent from the previous year,

although the FTC does not believe this is a true

measure of the increase in identity theft.6

• Identity theft victims experience long-term and welldocumented pain and suffering,7 such as harassment

from debt collectors, banking problems, loan rejection,

utility cutoffs, and even arrest for the identity thief's

other crimes. In fact, since federal and state laws often

protect victims against financial loss resulting from
The Problem of Identity Theft 5

identity theft, it is the disruption of their lives and the

psychological damage suffered that are probably the

worst aspects of their victimization. Victims spend, on

average, 600 hours trying to clear damaged credit or

even criminal records caused by the thief.8

• People fear having their identities stolen. In a recent

poll, only one fear topped respondents' fear of having

personal data stolen: that of another attack like the one

on the World Trade Center.9

• The financial losses to consumers and businesses are

enormous. The U.S. Secret Service estimated in 1997

that of the 9,455 cases investigated, consumers lost

more than $745 million due to identity theft.10 The 2003

FTC survey found that the total annual cost of identity

theft to its victims was about $5 billion. Businesses,

including financial institutions, lost another $47 billion

in identity theft-related costs.11

• The cost to law enforcement ranges from $15,000 to

$25,000 to investigate each case.12

Sources of Identity Theft Data 

Data sources vary in quality and often provide conflicting

or different estimates, especially concerning the extent and

cost of identity theft. A recent problem is the tendency of

businesses to exaggerate the threat of identity theft to sell

products tailored to prevent it, such as insurance or

software. Several sources supply data on identity theft:

• Government sources. The FTC was assigned the

responsibility of collecting data as a result of the

Identity Theft Act of 1998. Other data sources include

the U.S. General Accounting Office, Social Security

Administration, Postal Service, Department of

Homeland Security, FBI, Secret Service, Sentencing
6 Identity Theft

Commission, and congressional hearings on identity

theft and fraud.

• Popular and trade media reports. These provide mostly

anecdotal information and reinterpret reports from

government sources.

• Credit reporting agencies.

The FTC's 2003 victimization survey provides the most

reliable information to date.13
Factors Contributing to Identity Theft

Understanding the factors that contribute to your problem

will help you frame your own local analysis questions,

determine good effectiveness measures, recognize key

intervention points, and select appropriate responses. There

are few scientific studies on identity theft victims,

offenders, or incidents, though there are studies on some

identity theft-related crimes such as check and credit card

fraud.†

Regarding victims, the most important findings concern the

time taken to discover the theft:

• The longer it takes to discover the theft, the greater the

victim's loss and suffering.14

• Low-income, less-educated victims take longer to

discover or report the crime, resulting in greater

suffering, especially from harassment by debt collectors,

utility cutoffs, and banking problems.15

Victim characteristics are probably not related to identity

theft vulnerability, though more research is needed in this

area. The average age of victims is 42. They most often live

in a large metropolitan area, and typically don't notice the

crime for 14 months. Evidence suggests that seniors are

less victimized by identity theft than the rest of the

population, though they can be targeted in specific financial

scams that may or may not involve identity theft.†† African

Americans may suffer more from non-credit card identity

theft, especially theft of telephone and other utility

services, and check fraud.16

Factors Contributing to Identity Theft 7

† See the POP Guide on Check and

Card Fraud.

†† See the POP Guide on Financial

Crimes Against the Elderly.
8 Identity Theft

Regarding offenders, data from the above sources suggest

they are attracted to identity theft for two important

reasons:

• It is easy to commit because of the ready availability of

personal information on the Internet, or contained in

business files accessible to dishonest employees or

burglars. Many people are not vigilant in protecting

their personal information, and businesses are rarely

held accountable for customer information accessed by

those unauthorized to do so. Opportunities are legion.

There are even websites that offer guides on how to

create alternative IDs and to access other people's

personal identifying information.†

• Victims don't typically discover the crime until some

time after it has occurred–in some cases, years. If a

retailer has lax security, and an offender gets away with

using a stolen credit card, the legitimate cardholder may

not realize it until receiving the next card statement.

Familiarity between victim and offender provides

opportunities for identity theft because of the availability

of personal information among relatives, coworkers, and

others. According to the 1999-2001 FTC complaint files

(see Figure 1), close to 11 percent of the complainants

knew the offender. The FTC's 2003 survey found that 86

percent of victims had no relationship with the thief.17

However, other sources claim closer to 60 percent of

victims knew or had some information about the

offender.18

Offenders' opportunities to commit identity theft may be

classified under two broad categories: place and guardianship.

The trouble is that committed offenders know very well

where to find personal information, and the guardianship

is not too effective.

† You can find out anyone's social

security number for a small fee. Just

visit

http://www.docusearch.com/overtu

re_ssn.html, or check out

Undercover Press at

http://www.aaffordable.com/bestsellers.html, which promotes itself

as the "no questions asked source

for Birth certificates, social security

cards, city ID's, press cards,

Diplomas, credentials of almost any

kind including badges and police

ID's."
The Problem of Identity Theft 9

Place

Offenders can generally find people's personal information

in three places:

• in wallets or purses;

• in homes, cars, or other designated "safe" places (e.g., a

safe deposit box, gym locker, office drawer); and

• at businesses or institutions that maintain customer,

employee, patient, or student records.

Guardianship

Personal Guardianship

People are generally casual about protecting their personal

information, even though they indicate in opinion polls

that they are very concerned about doing so.19

Fig. 1. Methods of obtaining personal information
10 Identity Theft

• People carry personal information on them, which

offenders may obtain via pickpocketing, mugging, or, if

it is lost, simply finding it. People also leave personal

information in cars or other places where experienced

thieves know to look.

• Burglars can get information from victims' homes, and

"Internet burglars," or hackers, can obtain personal

identifying data from people's home computers.

• People's trash can serve as another source of

information. People often throw away credit card

statements, bank statements, and other documents

containing personal information. Offenders may go

through people's trash looking for such information.†

• People routinely give out personal information during

business transactions, such as in shops and restaurants.

Businesses that fail to use modern technology to

protect customers' personal information create

abundant opportunities for dishonest employees to

steal customers' identities.

Agency Guardianship 

There is an enormous amount of personal information

available, and it is incredibly easy to obtain. Government

agencies and businesses keep computerized records of

their clients. They may sell or freely provide that

information to other organizations.†† Often, all that is

needed is one form of identification, such as a driver's

license, and an offender can obtain the victim's mother's

maiden name, social security number, etc.††† Many identity

theft crimes are committed by employees of organizations

that maintain client databases. For example, a widely

publicized Detroit case involved an identity theft ring in

which employees of a major credit card company stole

† In a study of 400 households in

Nottingham, England, 40 percent of

trashcans contained documents

listing full credit and debit card

numbers, as well as names,

addresses, and expiration dates

(Davis 2002).

†† U.S. residents do not own

personal information contained in

agency databases, so they have little

control over how that information is

used. Recent "opt-out" laws allow

people to prevent their information

from being provided to others, but

these laws are not widely publicized.

††† Social security numbers are not

so secure. A recent study estimated

that 4.2 million people have

managed to acquire alternative

numbers (Finch 2003).
The Problem of Identity Theft 11

customer information.20 Procedures for authenticating

individual identities are often inadequate. Establishing a

given person's "true identity" is a complex task. It requires

the careful assessment of

• the person's biological identity (physical features, DNA,

fingerprints, etc.);

• the person's historical identity (date of birth, marriage,

etc.); and

• the link between those identities.21

Many agencies and businesses make only a cursory

attempt–if any–to assess these.

How Offenders Steal Identities

The notoriety of identity theft rose with media coverage

of the dangers of buying and selling on the Internet.†

However, the ways offenders steal identities are decidedly

low-tech. Computer hackers aren't necessarily geniuses;

sometimes they simply obtain a password by trickery or

from a dishonest insider. Some methods are more popular

than others, as is clear from Figure 1, which is based on

data collected by the FTC and reported by the General

Accounting Office. In general, these data indicate that

offenders make the most of the easiest available

opportunities:

• They steal wallets or purses from shopping bags, from

cars, or by pickpocketing.

• They steal mail, by several means. They may simply take

it from insecure mailboxes, submit a false change-ofaddress form to the post office to direct someone's

mail to themselves, or collude with a postal employee

to steal mail that contains personal information. Mail

† Available data indicate that

Internet-related identity theft

constitutes a small proportion of all

identity theft, probably less than 20

percent. However, there are many

definitional problems here. For

example, just one act of hacking

into a database may reap thousands

of credit card numbers and other

personal data. These are then used

to commit thousands of identity

thefts offline. So it is wise to reserve

judgment on this issue for now.
12 Identity Theft

that is useful to offenders includes preapproved credit

card applications, energy or telephone bills, bank or

credit card statements, and convenience checks.

• They rummage through residential trashcans or through

business dumpsters ("dumpster diving").

• They obtain people's credit reports by posing as

someone who is legally permitted to do so, such as a

landlord or employer.

• They collude with or bribe employees of businesses,

government agencies, or service organizations, such as

hospitals and HMOs, to obtain personnel or client

records, or if they are employees, they access the

information themselves.

• They break into homes to find personal information on

paper or on personal computers.

• They hack into corporate computers and steal customer

and employee databases, then sell them on the black

market or extort money from the database owners for

their return.

• They call credit card issuers and change the billing

address for an account. The offender immediately runs

up charges on the account, knowing that the victim will

not receive the bill for some time, if ever.

• They buy identities on the street for the going rate

(about $25), or buy credit cards that may be either

counterfeit or stolen.

• They buy counterfeit documents such as birth

certificates, visas, or passports. In 2001, the U.S.

Immigration and Naturalization Service intercepted

over 100,000 fraudulent passports, visas, alien

registration cards, and entry permits.

• They buy false or counterfeit IDs on the Internet for as

little as $50.
The Problem of Identity Theft 13

• They counterfeit checks and credit or debit cards, using

another person's name. All the technology for

reproducing plastic cards, including their holograms

and magnetic strips, can be bought on the Internet.

• They steal PINS and user IDs, using software available

on the Internet; trick Internet users into giving their

passwords and other personal information; or watch

users punch in their PINs on telephones or at ATMs.

• They use a single stolen ID to obtain legitimate IDs

they can use for a wide variety of additional frauds.

• They gain entry into ID-issuing agencies, such as motor

vehicle departments, by using bribery or extortion, or

posing as employees.

How Offenders Use Stolen Identities

Offenders use victims' personal information in countless

ways. Some of the most common examples follow:

• They open a new credit card account using the victim's

name. All this requires, apart from the applicant's

address, is usually a few pieces of information: the

victim's mother's maiden name, the victim's birth date,

and, sometimes, the victim's social security number.

• They open a landline or cell phone account in the

victim's name.

• They open a bank account in the victim's name. They

often open multiple accounts in multiple places, and

write bad checks on each.

• They file for bankruptcy under the victim's name, to

avoid paying their own debts or to avoid eviction.

• They steal the victim's identity, take over his or her

insurance policies, and make false claims for "pain and

suffering" suffered from auto accidents.22
14 Identity Theft

• They take out auto loans or mortgages under the

victim's name and residence.

• They submit fraudulent tax returns using the victim's

identity, and collect the refunds.

• They submit applications for social security using

others' identities (often those of people who have

died), and receive social security payments.

Types of Identity Theft

Classifying identity theft into types is difficult, as it

involves a wide variety of crimes and related problems.

However, the acknowledged motives for identity theft can

be used to construct a simple typology. Research indicates

that the two dominant motives for identity theft are

financial gain and concealment (either of true identity or

of a crime).† These motives are mediated by the

offenders' level of commitment to the task and the extent

to which offenders are simply opportunists taking

advantage of the moment.

Professionals who seek out targets and create their own

opportunities–usually in gangs–have a high level of

commitment. A lot of planning and organization is

involved. Some lone offenders also display considerable

commitment and planning, especially in regard to

concealing personal history. Offenders with low

commitment take advantage of opportunities in which ID

theft appears to solve an immediate problem; thus their

identity thefts are "opportunistic." 

† The FTC survey reported that 15

percent of ID theft victims in the

past five years had their personal

information misused in nonfinancial

ways. The most common such

misuse was for the offender to give

the victim's name and

identifying information when

stopped by law enforcement or

charged with a crime (Federal Trade

Commission 2003a).
The Problem of Identity Theft 15

As seen in Table 1, there are four types of identity theft,

based on the combinations of commitment and motive.

Of course, any single case could reflect aspects of more

than one type.

Table 1

The Four Types of Identity Theft

High Commitment, for Financial Gain 

Organized. In this type of identity theft, a group or gang

carefully plans and orchestrates the crimes. Indeed, while it

is widely believed that committing identity theft is easy

because of the numerous opportunities described above,

carrying out a truly successful identity theft requires

considerable organization and preparation:

• searching for an easy target,

• locating sources of personal information for that

target,

† An Algerian national facing U.S.

charges of identity theft allegedly

stole the identities of 21 members

of a Cambridge, Mass., health club

and transferred the identities to one

of the people convicted in the failed

1999 plot to bomb Los Angeles

International Airport (Willox 2002).

Financial gain Concealment

High commitment

(lots of planning)

Opportunistic 

(low commitment)

Organized. A fraud ring systematically

steals personal information and uses it to

generate bank accounts, obtain credit

cards, etc. (See box below.)

Individual. The offender sets up a lookalike Internet website for a major

company; spams consumers, luring them

to the site by saying their account

information is needed to clear up a

serious problem; steals the

personal/financial information the

consumer provides; and uses it to

commit identity theft.

An apartment manager uses personal

information from rental applications to

open credit card accounts.

Organized. Terrorists obtain false

visas and passports to avoid being

traced after committing terrorist

acts.†

Individual. The offender assumes

another's name to cover up past

crimes and avoid capture over

many years.

The offender uses another's name

and ID when stopped or arrested

by police.
16 Identity Theft

• obtaining the necessary documents (legal or

counterfeit) to establish legitimacy,

• choosing how to use the identity to obtain money,

• convincing officials that one is the person named in

identity documents, and

• anticipating how long one can exploit the identity

before the victim discovers the losses.

Research has shown that organized criminal gangs in

Southeast Asia manufacture plastic cards using stolen

identities. These are then marketed on the street in large

U.S. and European cities. Street fraudsters tend to

specialize in particular types of card fraud. They use

highly sophisticated techniques to avoid detection either

when using the card in a retail store or when converting

purchased goods into cash. They tend to work in small

gangs, deal in high volume, and operate in high-population

areas, usually 50 miles or more away from where they live.

A Classic Case of Organized Identity Theft for Financial Gain

Jane Sprayberry handed over her driver's license to an American Express customer service

representative who had asked for it in order to replace Jane's lost credit card. True to the

Amex promise, she received the replacement card without delay. The only trouble was that

the recipient was not the real Jane Sprayberry. The driver's license had her name on it, but

the photograph was not of her. In no time, the imposter ran up a big bill on high-priced

jewelry, clothing, and appliances. Just a week before, Jane's husband's bank account had

been emptied and his credit card cloned. A coincidence? Not at all. A ring of fraudsters in

Detroit had gotten jobs at large businesses and had collected reams of personal

information: personnel records, credit records, old rental-car agreements. Those offenders

who were eventually caught had bags and books full of such records–records they had used

over several years. They had run up an average of $18,000 in credit card charges per victim.

And they had sold identities on the street for around $25 each. It took the real Jane

Sprayberry and her husband more than six months to clean up the mess.23
The Problem of Identity Theft 17

Individual. Individuals may become strongly committed

to the crime once they discover, after casually using

someone's identity, how easy it is to get away with doing

so. For example, someone with a drug habit may regularly

buy stolen credit cards on the street (stolen cards are

cheaper if others have used them), to raise money to buy

drugs.

Opportunistic, for Financial Gain

The second type of identity theft occurs when the

offender takes advantage of the access he or she has to

the personal information of friends, family, or others.

Examples include the following:

• A college student uses his or her roommate's personal

information to apply for a preapproved credit card,

which comes in the mail to which they both have

access.

• A restaurant worker processes a customer's credit card

payment and notices that the complete card number is

printed out on the receipt, along with the expiration

date. The worker copies the information and later

makes several large purchases over the Internet, where

he or she does not need to show the card or verify his

or her identity.

High Commitment, for Concealment

Organized. Terrorism is the most recently cited instance

of organized groups' stealing identities to conceal illegal

activities, and to make tracking their true identities much

more difficult after they've committed crimes. Authorities

claim that all 19 of the September 11 terrorists were
18 Identity Theft

involved in identity theft in some way.24 This resulted in

the mistaken arrest of people whose identities had been

stolen.

Individual. Covering up past crimes is a major reason for

individuals to steal or assume another identity. Kathleen

Soliah, wanted for various bombings and attempted

murder in relation to her activities in the Symblonese

Liberation Front in the late 1960s, assumed the identity of

Sara Jones Olson (a common Scandinavian surname in

Minnesota). She evaded capture for 23 years, and in the

meantime became a doctor's wife, mother of three,

community volunteer, veteran of charity work in Africa,

and practicing Methodist living in an upscale

neighborhood in St. Paul, Minn.

Sources on the web make it easy for people to hide their identities.
The Problem of Identity Theft 19

Opportunistic, for Concealment

The most common type of opportunistic identity theft for

concealment occurs when an offender gives the name of

an acquaintance, friend, or family member when stopped,

questioned, or arrested by police. Examples include the

following:

• Jefferey Williams was jailed for 10 days without bail on

a warrant for drug possession and resisting arrest. The

Orange County (Fla.) Sheriff's Department had issued

the warrant in Orlando. Williams insisted that he was

not the person the police were looking for. The trouble

was that Florida authorities were seeking a relative of

Williams who had passed himself off as Jefferey, giving

Jefferey's name, birth date, and old home address.25

• Lisa Sims (alias Elisa McNabney) assumed the name of

her cellmate from a prior prison term to cover up her

extensive criminal past and avoid arrest on suspicion of

murdering her husband. Investigation revealed that she

had multiple social security numbers and other forms

of identity.26

Understanding Your Local Problem 21

Understanding Your Local Problem

The information provided above is only a generalized

description of identity theft. You must combine the basic

facts with a more specific understanding of your local

problem. Analyzing the local problem carefully will help

you design a more effective response strategy.

Asking the Right Questions

The following are some critical questions you should ask

in analyzing your particular problem of identity theft, even

if the answers are not always readily available. Your

answers to these and other questions will help you choose

the most appropriate set of responses later on. In some

cases, the questions you should ask will be similar to those

recommended regarding check and credit card fraud. If

you find that such fraud figures heavily in the identity

thefts you confront, you should also consult Check and

Card Fraud, Guide No. 21 in this series.

Incidents

• Have checks, cards, or other forms of identity been

targeted in crimes such as burglaries of homes and

offices, pickpocketing in shopping malls, muggings, and

thefts from cars?†

• What do reported cases of identity fraud usually entail:

check or card fraud, Internet fraud, forged documents,

false drivers' licenses, theft from cars? 

• Who typically reports the crimes: individual victims,

retailers, banks, or credit card issuers?

† A study issued by the U.S.

Sentencing Commission that

analyzed data on identity theft

related cases from 1998 found that

fewer than 10 types of ID were

stolen or used, the most common

being credit cards, driver's licenses,

social security numbers, birth

certificates, checks, and alien

registration cards. The majority of

the cases involved a single ID use

(U.S. Sentencing Commission 1999).
22 Identity Theft

• Is online fraud (from credit card sales) a problem in

your area? Such fraud may become apparent when

offenders order online but arrange to pick up

merchandise at the store. Do merchants report any

such instances?

• Are there any cases of parcels stolen or "lost" during

delivery of items ordered online? 

• Are there known fencing operations in or near your

area? If so, what kinds of items are most commonly

fenced, and are they traceable to any local stores? Do

new items frequently appear in pawnshops?

• Are there increases in incidents such as car

repossessions or collection agency activities?

• What is the local incidence of lost mail, mail diversions,

and false filings of changes of address with the post

office?

• If your jurisdiction is near a national border or entry

point, what data are available on attempts at illegal

entry using stolen or false documents?†

Offenders

• Do identity thieves work alone, or in groups? How

many work alone? How many work with others? How

and where do they get together? How do they offend

together? Why do they offend together? 

• What are offenders' demographic characteristics, such

as age and gender? Is there an ethnic component?

• Where do they live, work, or hang out?

• Do they know, or have they studied, their victims?

• How active are they? Do particular offenders account

for a few identity thefts, or for many? Do they

specialize in one particular method of committing

identity theft?

† In one study, fraudsters had

worked out over 100 different ways

of committing credit card fraud

(Jackson 1994). In another,

offenders displayed considerable

innovation in switching from one

technique of check forgery to

another (Jackson 1994; Lacoste and

Tremblay 2003).
Understanding Your Local Problem 23

• What, specifically, motivates them? Do they need quick

cash to party or to support a family? Do they have any

expensive addictions? Are they recently jobless, or are

they long-term offenders? 

• Do they show evidence of planning their crimes, or do

they take advantage of easy opportunities?

• What special skills and techniques do they use to

commit their crimes? 

Victims

• How do victims respond to identity theft? 

• Are particular people repeatedly victimized? If so, why?

• What do victims expect when they contact the police?

How long do they wait before reporting the crime to

the police? 

• How long does it take for victims to discover that their

identity has been stolen? Do they also report the theft

to their credit card issuer and bank?

• How do businesses respond to their victimization? Do

they routinely report check and card fraud to the

police? (Some may be unwilling to do so for fear that

police attention will drive business away, or, in the case

of card fraud, because they do not have to bear the

loss.) What kinds of businesses report identity fraud:

small family stores, large retail chains, supermarkets,

local or regional banks, etc.? Why do they report it?

• What are merchant attitudes regarding police

involvement in dealing with identity theft? 

• What procedures do merchants have for detecting or

preventing identity theft?

• Are particular businesses repeatedly victimized? If so,

why? (They may have inadequate security procedures in

place.) 

• Have any local businesses reported theft or loss of

company records?
24 Identity Theft

Locations/Times 

• Do any of the crimes related to identity theft–wallet

thefts, check and card fraud, account takeovers, use of

fake driver's licenses–occur in a specific area, on a

particular day, and/or at a particular time? 

• Can cases of identity theft be traced back to particular

supermarkets, electronics stores, retail chains,

restaurants, online stores, or even car dealerships?

• Do muggings or thefts from cars that entail theft of

credit cards and other personal documents occur in

neighborhoods where drug dealing is common?

• Does fraud occur at checkout in local stores?

• Do thieves use methods that require them to travel to

and from specific places? (Some identity thieves, once

they have the necessary information, may open several

bank accounts in a short period of time, write several

large checks, then quickly leave the area).

• Do thieves use the telephone or Internet to convert

their stolen identities into cash? Do they call stores

from home, or from public phones? Do they access

online stores from home computers, or from those

available in public places (e.g., college campuses, public

libraries, Internet cafes)?

Current Practices

• What databases are available to help you prevent or

reduce identity theft? You may have access to a number

of useful databases, or you may need to construct your

own–given, of course, the resources to do it:
Understanding Your Local Problem 25

a. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse recommends

establishing a central database of lost or stolen

driver's licenses, so that local police officers can

check IDs against it. While this may seem obvious,

information-sharing among agencies continues to

be difficult. If your state does not already have

such a database, clearly it will require considerable

collaboration with law enforcement bodies and

state agencies to create one.

b. The FTC's Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse is

the central national repository of identity theft

complaints. All local, state, and federal law

enforcement officers can have free Internet access

to this secure database. After your organization

signs a confidentiality agreement with the FTC,

you will be provided with a user ID and password.

You can search the database for complaints

relating to investigations you are working on, or

find clusters of reports detailing suspicious activity

regarding locations or people in your community.

You can also receive e-mail notifications each time

a complaint that relates to your interests hits the

database. To learn more about Consumer Sentinel,

go to http://www.ftc.gov/sentinel/. To join

Consumer Sentinel, go to

http://www.ftc.gov/sentinel/cs_signup.pdf.

c. Credit-issuing and reporting companies such as

Visa and MasterCard also maintain databases of

lost or stolen cards. You should establish ways of

accessing these databases, which will require

working with local banks and businesses with ties

to those companies.
26 Identity Theft

• Does your crime analyst (if your department has one)

track crimes that relate to and facilitate identity theft?

When victims report burglaries or thefts, tracking the

use of stolen identity related items such as credit cards

may provide clues concerning offenders' activities, such

as which stores prefer. You may then work with the

stores to improve security, if it is lax, and also to

identify the thieves.

• Does your department have an established procedure

for verifying and recording the identities offenders give

when they are stopped, questioned, or arrested? Do

officers receive training in ID authentication?

• Does your department have a crime reporting system

that facilitates making a police report for identity theft

or fraud?

• How do local agencies respond to ID theft? Do they

have established reporting procedures? 

Measuring Your Effectiveness

Measurement allows you to determine to what degree your

efforts have succeeded, and suggests how you might

modify your responses if they are not producing the

intended results. You should take measures of your

problem before you implement responses, to determine how

serious the problem is, and after you implement them, to

determine whether they have been effective. All measures

should be taken in both the target area and the

surrounding area. (For more detailed guidance on

measuring effectiveness, see the companion guide to this

series, Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory Guide

for Police Problem-Solvers.) 
Understanding Your Local Problem 27

The following are potentially useful measures of the

effectiveness of responses to identity theft:

• Increases in incident reports (if you have raised

awareness of identity theft in your community,

including in your police department).

• Decreases in incident reports and fewer repeat

offenders (if your prevention efforts have been

effective).

• Increases in favorable media coverage (resulting from

your efforts to raise awareness and sensitivity to the

crime, and to publicize your department's responses to

it).

• Increases in interdepartmental collaborations (resulting

from your efforts to coordinate prevention and

enforcement activities among relevant government

agencies).

• Decreases in retail losses attributed to identity theft,

especially check and card fraud. Retailers may use the

number of transactions, or the total amount of sales, as

the base against which they compute losses.

• Increases in measures businesses take to protect

employee and client records and privacy (resulting from

your work with them to increase security).

• Differences in reported frauds between stores or banks

where you focus your activities and those where you do

not (keeping in mind that changes may be due to other

factors, and that reported crime does not always reflect

actual crime).

• Reductions in related crimes such as burglaries, thefts

from cars, or robberies at ATMs,† where credit cards,

bankcards, or other forms of identity may be prime

targets (keeping in mind that changes may be due to

other factors related to those crimes).

† See the POP Guide on Robbery

at Automated Teller Machines.
28 Identity Theft

• Increases in related crimes when fraudsters' efforts are

thwarted and they shift to easier targets (displacement).

One study has suggested that acquisitive crime may

increase as credit card fraud decreases.27 Other studies

have found that fraudsters tend not to switch easily

between different types of credit card fraud,28 though

they are resourceful in shifting between different types

of check fraud, or at least in inventing new ways to

commit it.29

• Reductions in the number of new products fenced or

available in pawnshops.
Responses to the Problem of Identity Theft 29

Responses to the Problem of Identity

Theft

Your analysis of your local problem should give you a

better understanding of the factors contributing to it.

Once you have analyzed your local problem and

established a baseline for measuring effectiveness, you

should consider possible responses to address the

problem. As noted at the beginning of this guide, some of

the risk factors relating to identity theft may lie beyond the

immediate influence of local police, or they may appear to

lie beyond the usual scope of local police responsibility.

These include:

• preventive measures businesses should take to

safeguard their records from employee misuse or from

outside intrusion;

• marketing or authentication practices of credit card or

retail companies that make it easier for identity thieves

to open card accounts or make fraudulent purchases;

• preventive measures government agencies should take

to safeguard their records from employee misuse or

from outside intrusion;

• technologies that make counterfeiting cards, checks, or

other forms of identity easier for offenders;

• preventive measures people should take to safeguard

their personal information;

• opportunities the Internet provides for purchase or

theft of personal information; and

• actions credit-reporting agencies take in response to

victims' requests for help in repairing their credit

records.
30 Identity Theft

However, studies of successful interventions to reduce or

prevent check and credit card fraud have shown that there

are things local police can do to impact some of the above

factors. It requires the development of various

partnerships with local and state government agencies and

with businesses.†

The following response strategies provide a foundation of

ideas for addressing your particular problem. These

strategies are drawn from a variety of research studies and

police reports. Several of these strategies may apply to

your community's problem. It is critical that you tailor

responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify

each response based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an

effective strategy will involve implementing several

different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are

seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem. Do

not limit yourself to considering what police can do: give

careful consideration to who else in your community

shares responsibility for the problem and can help police

better respond to it. In the case of identity theft, there are

clear implications for businesses, other government

agencies, and consumer advocacy groups.

General Considerations for an Effective Response

Strategy

As we have seen, identity theft is a complex crime,

composed of many sub-crimes and related to many other

problems. Thus, identity theft crimes fall under the

authority of many different agencies, including the local

police, Secret Service, Postal Inspection Service, FBI,

Homeland Security, local government offices, and motor

vehicle departments, to name just a few. Regional and state

law enforcement agencies may have established

† See the POP Guide on Check and Card

Fraud.
Responses to the Problem of Identity Theft 31

multiagency task forces to combat identity fraud. For

example, the Financial Crimes Task Force of Southwestern

Pennsylvania consists of local law enforcement, Secret

Service agents, and postal inspectors. At a minimum,

multiagency task forces should include motor vehicle

departments and local and state government agencies that

keep public records. These multiagency task forces fulfill

an important need because, at present, the Secret Service,

which has primary responsibility for investigating identity

theft, does not accept cases unless there is a financial loss

of over $200,000 and a multistate fraud ring is involved.

This leaves many victims in the lurch.

Thus, it will be important for you to work with local

agencies to coordinate responses, so that you can

participate more fully in designing and implementing

preventive strategies. In addition, if local police have the

first official contact with the victim, they can be an

important investigative resource. FTC data indicate that

the victim often knows who the offender is, or has

significant amounts of information about the offender. In

2003, 62 percent of the complaints in the FTC identity

theft database contained information about the offender.

However, because of the complexity–and expense–of

developing multiagency task forces, your initial efforts

should focus on local factors that will help reduce or

prevent identity theft and mitigate the harm done to

victims. Thus, the responses listed below are divided into

two sections:

• Prevention: What to do to prevent identity theft from

occurring in your jurisdiction.

• Victim assistance: How to respond to victims who

come to you for help.
32 Identity Theft

It should be emphasized that these two stages are closely

related, and that collecting information in one stage helps

in addressing the other. For example, obtaining

information in the victim assistance stage will help you

develop prevention strategies.†

Finally, since identity theft occurs in conjunction with a

variety of other crimes, and given the limited resources

that may be available to you, it may not be feasible to

address all such crimes at once. It may be more effective

to be on the lookout for rashes of specific types of

identity theft, such as credit card fraud or immigration

fraud (if your jurisdiction is near an entry point). Focusing

on a specific crime will make it easier to collect relevant

information and to measure response effectiveness.

Specific Responses to Identity Theft

Prevention

1. Raising businesses' awareness of their

responsibility to protect employee and client records.

Offenders steal many identities from inadequately

protected business records. There are many commonsense, low-tech ways to protect databases. You may work

through local business associations, or establish working

relationships with local businesses. Do not assume that all,

or even most, businesses are aware of the opportunities

afforded identity thieves by poor protection of their

records. Many businesses do not institute security

procedures because they do not consider them costeffective. Mindful of businesses' reasonable concern for

† The costs to the victim–in terms

of both out-of-pocket expense and

time spent resolving problems–are

substantially smaller if the misuse

is discovered quickly. No out-ofpocket expenses were incurred by

67 percent of those who

discovered misuse of their

personal information within five

months (Federal Trade

Commission 2003b).
Responses to the Problem of Identity Theft 33

profits, you should try to convince businesses that the

costs of losing data, in terms of both their reputation

with clients and possible lawsuits by victims, are much

higher than those of following the many simple

procedures to protect private information. State and/or

federal laws such as GLB (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act),

HIPAA (HealthInsurance Portability and Accountability

Act of 1996), and FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit

Transactions Act) require certain businesses or institutions

to protect information better. The Internet provides

considerable information on how businesses should

protect their records. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

recommends the following practices:

• Develop a comprehensive privacy policy that includes

responsible information-handling procedures. Use a

shredder or similar document-disposal method.

• Conduct regular staff training, new-employee

orientations, and spot checks on proper information

care.

• Support and participate in multiagency financial-crimes

task forces.

• Limit data collection to the minimum of information

needed; for example, limit requests for social security

numbers.

• Put limits on data disclosure. For example, must social

security numbers be printed on paychecks, parking

permits, staff badges, time sheets, training program

rosters, staff promotion lists, monthly account

statements, client reports, etc.?

• Restrict data access to only those employees with a

legitimate need to know. Audit electronic trails. Impose

strict penalties for browsing and illegitimate access.
34 Identity Theft

• Conduct employee background checks. Screen cleaning

services, temp services, etc.

• Include responsible information-handling practices in

business school courses, and even in elementary

schools, if children have access to computers.

2. Educating people about protecting their personal

information. The Internet has an enormous amount of

information on how to avoid becoming an identity theft

victim (see Appendix B for a selection of the main

sources). Some police departments include special sections

on identity theft on their websites, all with information on

how to protect one's identity. To get the message out, you

need to work through the community's main support

organizations: schools, consumer advocacy groups, seniors'

community centers and organizations, neighborhood watch

meetings, and other community service groups. If your

police department has a website, include information

sources on protecting identity on the site. If budget

permits, print out information brochures to hand out at

meetings. The best publication on preventing identity theft

is available free on the Internet or from the Federal Trade

Commission: Identity Theft: When Bad Things Happen to Your

Good Name. It should be emphasized, however, that there

have been no scientific evaluations of the effectiveness of

the advice given in this document and on many websites.

Much of the advice is "common sense" (for example,

don't leave personal information such as credit card

statements in your trashcan).

3. Collaborating with government and other service

organizations to protect private information. Social

security numbers and driver's licenses are the two most

common forms of identification used in the United States.
Responses to the Problem of Identity Theft 35

While identity theft awareness has increased considerably

since the Identity Theft Act of 1998, agencies still need

support in efforts to reduce the use of social security

numbers as identifiers (very common on health insurance

cards, for example), and local agency personnel may need

to be constantly reminded of the risks involved in lax use

of private information. Although some of the following

recommendations are probably beyond the scope of local

police, it is important that you work with agencies

concerned about these issues, since it helps solidify your

relationship with those whose help you may need to

investigate identity theft cases or help victims resolve the

problems they face, such as getting a new driver's license.

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse recommends the

following practices:

• Keep social security numbers out of general

circulation.

• Prohibit the use of social security numbers to obtain a

driver's license, health insurance ID, or other forms of

identification.

• Prohibit the sale of social security numbers, available

now on information-broker websites.

• Maintain central clearinghouses in each state for lost

and stolen driver's licenses.

• Conduct better photo- and ID-checking for new,

duplicate, and replacement IDs.

• Restrict access to birth certificates in states where they

are now publicly accessible.

• Remove social security numbers and other sensitive

information from public records, especially when

accessible on the Internet.
36 Identity Theft

4. Working with local banks to encourage credit card

issuers to adopt improved security practices. The

major credit card companies have national and

international reach, so it is unlikely that your local efforts

will directly influence their security policies. It is also clear

that their marketing policies sometimes contribute to

identity theft–such as the massive number of preapproved

offers of credit they mail to consumers. However, local

banks often have agreements with the major credit card

companies, especially as many ATM (or debit) cards also

serve as credit cards. Thus, local banks, as customers of

credit card companies, may have some influence on their

card-issuing policies. In addition, by working closely with

local banks, you may make it easier to establish procedures

for local identity theft victims to repair the damage done,

and get their accounts operating again. Bear in mind that

some financial institutions won't give investigators

information about their clients' accounts unless through a

court order or similar legal process (the new Fair and

Accurate Credit Transactions Act removes this

requirement as of June 2004). However, they will give the

information to their client–the victim. Thus, working

closely with the victim is vital (see response #6). You

should urge your local banks and businesses to pressure

credit card companies to do the following:

• Conduct better identity verification, especially when the

person's address is reported as changed or differs from

what his or her credit report indicates.

• Conduct better identity verification for those using

preapproved credit cards. Don't rely solely on social

security numbers. Have the person provide his or her

utility bills, tax record address, etc.
Responses to the Problem of Identity Theft 37

• Improve identity checking procedures for "instant"

credit, favored by identity thieves.

• Put photographs on credit cards, or other

authentication indicators such as smart chips or PINS.

• Request additional ID when verifying credit card

purchases at the point of sale.

• Enable customers to put passwords on credit accounts.

• Truncate digits on account numbers printed on receipts

at the point of sale.

• Use account-profiling systems to detect unusual

activity. Notify the consumer of possible fraud.

• Check if there is an existing account in the applicant's

name.

• Check the social security master-death index.

• Reduce the number of preapproved credit applications

mailed to consumers. Don't mail such offers to anyone

under 18. Print an opt-out phone number prominently

on all such offers (1.888.5OPTOUT).

• Prohibit convenience checks, or at least provide an optout to credit card and bank customers.

5. Tracking delivery. Much of identity theft depends on

the delivery of documents and products. Vacant houses

or apartments are prime locations for delivery of products

or diverted mail. Credit applications or driver's license

renewal forms are at risk in mailboxes; products bought

with stolen credit cards on the Internet are delivered to

such addresses. Maintaining a close relationship with local

postal inspectors and delivery companies such as UPS or

FedEx may help you track items back to thieves. You can

work with the local post office and delivery companies to

train employees to:
38 Identity Theft

• take note of deliveries to houses that are vacant or up

for sale;

• spot driver's license renewals and credit card statements

that go to unfamiliar addresses; and

• maintain records of applications to forward mail or

packages (the Postal Service now requires people to

show ID to submit a change-of-address or mailforwarding application).

Victim Assistance

6. Working with the victim. Victims have many

protections under federal and state law that prevent them

from being liable for unauthorized charges, withdrawals, or

other unlawful activities of identity thieves. They also have

rights regarding the accuracy of their credit reports.

Police need to understand how consumers are protected,

and provide victims with educational resources that

explain their rights and the steps they need to take to

assert them. The FTC's comprehensive guide, When Bad

Things Happen to Your Good Name, and its website,

www.consumer.gov/idtheft, provide consumers with the

information they need to deal with fraudulent debts and

any negative credit-report information resulting from

identity theft.

Communicating with victims is important, as well. The

most frequent complaint the Identity Theft Resource

Center receives is that "the police just don't care." It is

important to let victims know that the police do care and

do understand. Remember that identity theft victims have

been repeatedly victimized. Identity theft is an emotionally

harmful crime. Furthermore, you should be aware that
Responses to the Problem of Identity Theft 39

victims typically uncover more evidence in a case than do

investigators, and more rapidly. Thus you should quickly

develop a close working relationship with the victim. The

steps you can take to do so are as follows:31

• Assure the victim that you will take a police or incident

report and give him or her a copy. This is important

because many, if not all, identity theft crimes fall under

several jurisdictions. For example, the offender steals

the credit card in one state and uses it in another; the

card company is located in yet a different state; and the

victim lives elsewhere. Even though there may be many

cross-jurisdictional issues involved, you should

immediately respond to the victim by preparing a police

or incident report. Without one, the victim will have

difficulty filing an identity theft affidavit. At a

minimum, file a report with the FTC Consumer

Sentinel database.

• Have available the Identity Theft Victim Guide, which

outlines what steps a victim should take, and how the

victim should prepare for the investigator's phone call

or visit. It should be mailed to the victim, as well as

available on your department's website. The guide

should list what steps your department takes after

receiving a complaint, and exactly what information

and documentation the victim needs to provide when

interviewed.

• Recommend that, for the initial meeting, the victim

prepare a rough written draft of the case. The victim

should provide his or her name and contact details;

state when he or she discovered the fraud; list any

fraudulent activity to date, in chronological order; list

the affected accounts; and provide facts about the

imposter, if any are known.
40 Identity Theft

• At your initial meeting with the victim, he or she may

be frustrated and angry. Inform the victim what it's like

"behind the scenes" of a fraud investigation; what the

procedures will be from this point forward; how soon it

will be before a copy of the police report is available;

when he or she will hear from you next; and what the

chances are of catching the offender.

• Help victims to understand and exercise their rights

under the federal credit laws. They will have to take

many steps to restore their accounts, be released from

fraudulent debts, and clean up their credit reports.

Many of these steps must be followed up in writing.

Therefore, direct the victim to Internet resources (such

as the FTC website, www.consumer.gov/idtheft), or

give the victim written materials that explain how the

recovery process works. Help the victim secure the

necessary paperwork, such as an identity theft affidavit,

and give the victim a copy of the police or incident

report regarding his or her case. Also give the victim

information on how to contact the credit-reporting

companies.

• Enter the victim's complaint information into the

FTC's Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, letting the

victim know that you are doing so on his or her behalf,

or advise the victim to file a complaint with the FTC,

either online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft, or by

calling 1.877.ID.THEFT (1.877.438.4338). Explain to

the victim that while the individual identity theft

complaint may not be enough to bring to a prosecutor,

putting it into the national database will enable

investigators across the country to combine it with any

other complaints about the same offender, making

prosecution more likely.
Responses to the Problem of Identity Theft 41

7. Preparing a plan to prevent or minimize the harm

of identity theft when large identity databases have

been breached. When a business or government agency

reports that its employee records or client databases have

been violated, police and others must act quickly to reduce

the amount of time the thief has to use the stolen

identities. Such a case occurred in California when a thief

broke into state government databases and stole personal

information of 265,000 employees, including the governor.

The following steps were taken:

• Toll-free, dedicated phone lines were set up for

employees to call the three major credit bureaus to

warn of the theft.

• Employees received information packets on what to do

to protect their identities and reduce damage, how to

read credit reports, how a fraud alert on a credit file

works, and so on.

• The state held workshops for employees, distributed

videos, and launched a webpage with helpful

information.

The FTC has published a response guide on what a

business should do if files with customers' personal

information have been compromised. It sets out a step-bystep plan and includes a model letter to notify customers

whose information was compromised. The guide is

available online at

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/idtbizkit.

htm.

Appendix 43

Appendix A: Summary of Responses to

Identity Theft

The table below summarizes the responses to identity

theft, the mechanism by which they are intended to work,

the conditions under which they ought to work best, and

some factors you should consider before implementing a

particular response. It is critical that you tailor responses

to local circumstances, and that you can justify each

response based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an

effective strategy will involve implementing several

different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are

seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem.

1.

2.

32

34

Raising

businesses'

awareness of

their

responsibility to

protect employee

and client

records

Educating

people about

protecting their

personal

information

You work with

businesses to

ensure that they

follow best

practices for

securing

personal records

You work with

local schools and

citizen and

consumer groups

to teach theft

prevention

techniques

...you have a

good working

relationship with

local businesses

...you use the

wealth of

information

available on the

Internet and

provided by many

federal and state

agencies

You must

overcome

businesses'

concerns that

security practices

will affect their

bottom line

This should be

made a part of

your

department's

regular outreach

activities

Response

No.

Page No. Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

Prevention
44 Identity Theft

3.

4.

5.

6.

34

36

37

38

Collaborating

with government

and other service

organizations to

protect private

information

Working with

local banks to

encourage credit

card issuers to

adopt improved

security practices

Tracking delivery 

Working with

the victim

You work with

service agencies

to reduce the use

of social security

numbers as

identifiers

You urge banks

to demand that

credit card

issuers develop

better identity

verification

techniques

You work with

the post office

and delivery

companies to

monitor vacant

residences and

diverted

deliveries of

mail

You adopt the

victim as your

partner in the

investigation

...you have a

good working

relationship with

the agencies,

especially those

that issue

identification

documents 

...you have a

good working

relationship with

local banks

...you help train

delivery

employees to

spot suspicious

deliveries

...you address

victim concerns

early and show

that you care,

provide the

victim with a

copy of the

police or

incident report,

and direct the

victim to

resources

outlining the

self-help steps he

or she needs to

take

Your influence

may be limited,

depending on your

reputation for

dealing with

identity theft, and

the size of the

government

bureaucracy

Credit card issuers

are often

international in

scope, so their

security practices

might be beyond

the influence of

local financial

institutions 

This requires

considerable effort

to maintain

monitoring and

training over time 

Crossjurisdictional

issues may hamper

your response and

frustrate the

victim; the

number of

identity theft

incidents may

initially appear to

rise after you

adopt a policy to

write reports for

all victims; the

victim will still

need to make

follow-up phone

Response

No.

Page No. Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

Victim Assistance
Appendix 45

6.

(cont’d)

7. 41 Preparing a

plan to prevent

or minimize the

harm of

identity theft

when large

identity

databases have

been breached

You work with

local businesses

and service

agencies to

develop a

disaster plan

should massive

theft of personal

records occur

calls and send

follow-up

documents to

resolve their

identity theft

problems, which

may prove

burdensome

This requires

coordination and

cooperation

between local

businesses and

government, and

direct contact with

national creditreporting agencies 

...you have a

good working

relationship with

local agencies, so

that the plan can

be put into effect

immediately to

reduce the time

the thief has to

use stolen

records

Response

No.

Page No. Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

Appendix B: Selected Identity Theft Resources 47

Appendix B: Selected Identity Theft

Resources

Help for Victims and Others

• Major credit reporting agencies:

Equifax, P.O. Box 74021, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241.

Phone: 800.916.8800. www.equifax.com

Experian (formerly TRW), P.O. Box 8030, Layton,

UT 84041-8030. Phone: 888.397.3742.

www.experian.com.

TransUnion, P.O. Box 390, Springfield, PA 19064.

Phone: 800.916.8800. www.transunion.com

• To file an identity theft complaint:

By phone, toll-free: 877.ID.THEFT (877.438.4338)

Online: www.consumer.gov/idtheft

By mail: Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal

Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.,

Washington, DC 20580

• To opt out of prescreened credit card offers by phone,

toll-free: 888.5.OPT.OUT

• To learn about privacy choices for personal financial

information online:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/privacy/default.htm

Federal Government Resources 

Department of Justice:

www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/idtheft.html

FBI: http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm

FTC: www.consumer.gov/idtheft and www.ftc.gov
48 Identity Theft

Consumer Advocacy

AARP:

http://research.aarp.org/consume/dd85_idtheft.html

CALPIRG and USPIRG: www.pirg.org

ID Theft Resource Center for Law Enforcement:

http://www.idtheftcenter.org/lawenforcement.shtml

Identity Theft Survival Kit: www.identitytheft.org

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: www.privacyrights.org

Law Enforcement Consortia

International Association of Financial Crime

Investigators: http://www.iafci.org/home.html

Useful Documents

"Coping With Identity Theft: What to Do When

an Impostor Strikes," by Privacy Rights

Clearinghouse (Fact Sheet 17).

www.privacyrights.org.

"Identity Theft Survival Kit" and "From Victim to

Victor: A Step-by-Step Guide for Ending the

Nightmare of Identity Theft," by Mari Frank.

Available at www.identitytheft.org

"Identity Theft: When Bad Things Happen to

Your Good Name," by Federal Trade Commission

(September 2002). Phone: 877.ID.THEFT.

www.consumer.gov/idtheft
Endnotes 49

Endnotes

1 U.S. Public Law 105-318 (1998).

2 Newman and Clarke (2003).

3 Maxfield and Clarke (in press).

4 United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (2003).

5 Federal Trade Commission (2003a).

6 Federal Trade Commission (2003c).

7 CALPIRG (2000) and Identity Theft Resource Center (2003).

8 Identity Theft Resource Center (2003).

9 Goodwin (2003).

10 Lease and Burke (2000).

11 Federal Trade Commission (2003a).

12 Personal communication, John McCullough, Minnesota Financial Crimes

Task Force.

13 Federal Trade Commission (2003a).

14 Federal Trade Commission (2003a).

15 Federal Trade Commission (2003a).

16 Federal Trade Commission (2003).

17 Verton (2001); Federal Trade Commission (2003a).

18 Burns, Ronni (2004). Citicard presentation to Identity Theft Focus Group,

Major Cities Chiefs Association, May 3.

19 Cullier (2003).

20 Davis (2001).

21 Willox (2000).

22 Willox (2000).

23 Davis (2001).

24 Willox (2002).

25 Whitlock (1999).

26 North County Times (2002).

27 Levi and Handley (n.d.).

28 Mativat and Tremblay (1997).

29 Lacoste and Tremblay (2003).

30 Newman and Clarke (2003), pp. 117-118, 126.

31 Foley (2003).

References 51

References

CALPIRG (2000). Nowhere to Turn: Victims Speak out on

Identity Theft. A CALPIRG/PRC Report–May.

Sacramento, Calif.: Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

Cullier, D. (2003). "WSU Study Shows Washingtonians

Fear Identity Theft But Want Government to Operate

in the Open." Washington State University News

Service. Feb. 26.

http://www.wsunews.wsu.edu/detail.asp?StoryID=3750

Davis, K. (2002). "Clean up Your Trash: A Home Shredder

Is Insurance Against Identity Theft." Kiplinger Personal

Finance 56(6):102.

(2001). "Anatomy of a Fraud." Kiplinger's Personal

Finance 55(3):90.

Economic Crime Institute (2003). "Identity Fraud: A

Critical National and Global Threat." White Paper. A

Joint Project of the Economic Crime Institute of

Utica College and LexisNexis. Oct. 28.

http://www.ecii.edu/identity_fraud.pdf

Finch, E. (2003). "What a Tangled Web We Weave:

Identity Theft and the Internet." In Y. Jewkes (ed.),

Dot.cons: Crime, Deviance, and Identity on the Internet.

Cullompton, England: Willan.

Federal Trade Commission (2003a). Identity Theft Report.

http://www.ftc.gov/reports/index.htm

(2003b). Overview of the Identity Theft Program,

October 1998–September 2003.

http://www.ftc.gov/reports/index.htm
52 Identity Theft

(2003c). National and State Trends in Fraud and

Identity Theft, January–December 2003.

http://www.consumer.gov/sentinel/pubs/Top10Fraud2003.

pdf

Foley, L. (2003). "Enhancing Law Enforcement–Identity

Theft Communication." Identity Theft Resource

Center. http://www..idtheftcenter.org

Goodwin, B. (2003). "Identity Theft Is Key Cybersecurity

Fear." Computerweekly.com. April 17.

http://194.203.155.34/Article121058.htm

Identity Theft Resource Center with Dale Pletcher (2003).

Identity Theft–The Aftermath.

http://www.idtheftcenter.org/library.shtml

International Association of Chiefs of Police (2000).

"Curbing Identity Theft." Resolutions.

http://www.theiacp.org/Resolutions/index.cfm?fuseaction=

dis_public_view&resolution_id=20&CFID=138190&CFTO

KEN=34557922

Jackson, J. (1994). "Fraud Masters: Professional Credit

Card Offenders and Crime." Criminal Justice Review

19(1):24–55.

Lacoste, J., and P. Tremblay (2003). "Crime Innovation: A

Script Analysis of Patterns in Check Forgery." Crime

Prevention Studies 16:171–198.

Lease, M., and T. Burke (2000). "Identity Theft: A FastGrowing Crime." FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 69(8).
References 53

Levi, M., and J. Handley (n.d.). Criminal Justice and the

Future of Payment Card Fraud. London: IPPR Criminal

Justice Forum.

Mativat, F., and P. Tremblay (1997). "Counterfeiting Credit

Cards: Displacement Effects, Suitable Offenders, and

Crime Wave Patterns." British Journal of Criminology

37(2):165–183.

Maxfield, M., and R. Clarke (eds.) (in press). Understanding

and Preventing Auto Theft. Crime Prevention Studies,

Vol. 17. Monsey, N.Y.: Criminal Justice Press.

Newman, G., and R. Clarke (2003). Superhighway Robbery:

Preventing E-Commerce Crime. London: Willan.

North County Times (2002). "Woman Hangs Self in Jail."

April 1, Back Page.

Schrader, A. (2003). "Colorado's Lax Laws Attract ID

Thieves." Denver Post, Dec.1.

United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research

Institute (2003). Coalitions Against Trafficking in Human

Beings in the Philippines. Research and Action Final

Report: Anti-Human Trafficking Unit. Vienna, Austria:

United Nations. See also

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/publications/publications

_trafficking.html

U.S. General Accounting Office (2002). "Identity Fraud:

Prevalence and Links to Illegal Alien Activities."

Statement of Richard M. Stana, Director of Justice

Issues. GAO-02-830T.
54 Identity Theft

(1998). "Identity Fraud." Report No. GGD-98-

100BR. http://www.gao.gov

U.S. Public Law 105-318 (1998). 105th Cong.112 Stat.

3007, (October 30, 1998). Identity Theft Assumption and

Deterrence Act of 1998. 

U.S. Sentencing Commission (1999). Identity Theft: Final

Report. Economic Crimes Policy Team. Dec. 15.

Verton, D. (2001). "Identity Thefts Skyrocket, but Less

Than 1% Occur Online." Computerworld 35(7).

Whitlock, Craig (1999). "The Suspect Really Was Someone

Else." Washington Post, Aug. 18.

Willox, N. (2002). "Identity Fraud: Providing a Solution."

Journal of Economic Crime Management 1(1).

(2000). "Identity Theft: Authentication as a

Solution." National Fraud Center, Identity Theft

Summit, March 15–16.
About the Author 55

About the Author

Graeme R. Newman 

Graeme R. Newman is a distinguished teaching professor at the

School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, State University of

New York. He has published works in the fields of the history and

philosophy of punishment, comparative criminal justice, private

security, situational crime prevention, and ecommerce crime, and has

written commercial software. He was the CEO of a publishing

company for 15 years and, in 1990, established the United Nations

Crime and Justice Information Network. Among the books he has

written or edited are Superhighway Robbery: Preventing Ecommerce Crime

(with Ronald V. Clarke), and Rational Choice and Situational Crime

Prevention (with Ronald V. Clarke and Shlomo Shoham).

Recommended Readings 57

Recommended Readings

• A Police Guide to Surveying Citizens and Their

Environments, Bureau of Justice Assistance, 1993. This

guide offers a practical introduction for police practitioners

to two types of surveys that police find useful: surveying

public opinion and surveying the physical environment. It

provides guidance on whether and how to conduct costeffective surveys.

• Assessing Responses to Problems: An

Introductory Guide for Police Problem-Solvers, by

John E. Eck (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of

Community Oriented Policing Services, 2001). This guide is

a companion to the Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series. It

provides basic guidance to measuring and assessing

problem-oriented policing efforts.

• Conducting Community Surveys, by Deborah Weisel

(Bureau of Justice Statistics and Office of Community

Oriented Policing Services, 1999). This guide, along with

accompanying computer software, provides practical, basic

pointers for police in conducting community surveys. The

document is also available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs.

• Crime Prevention Studies, edited by Ronald V. Clarke

(Criminal Justice Press, 1993, et seq.). This is a series of

volumes of applied and theoretical research on reducing

opportunities for crime. Many chapters are evaluations of

initiatives to reduce specific crime and disorder problems.
58 Identity Theft

• Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing:The 1999

Herman Goldstein Award Winners. This document

produced by the National Institute of Justice in

collaboration with the Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services and the Police Executive Research Forum

provides detailed reports of the best submissions to the

annual award program that recognizes exemplary problemoriented responses to various community problems. A

similar publication is available for the award winners from

subsequent years. The documents are also available at

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij.

• Not Rocket Science? Problem-Solving and Crime

Reduction, by Tim Read and Nick Tilley (Home Office

Crime Reduction Research Series, 2000). Identifies and

describes the factors that make problem-solving effective or

ineffective as it is being practiced in police forces in

England and Wales.

• Opportunity Makes the Thief: Practical Theory for

Crime Prevention, by Marcus Felson and Ronald V.

Clarke (Home Office Police Research Series, Paper No. 98,

1998). Explains how crime theories such as routine activity

theory, rational choice theory and crime pattern theory have

practical implications for the police in their efforts to

prevent crime.

• Problem Analysis in Policing, by Rachel Boba (Police

Foundation, 2003). Introduces and defines problem

analysis and provides guidance on how problem analysis

can be integrated and institutionalized into modern

policing practices.
Recommended Readings 59

• Problem-Oriented Policing, by Herman Goldstein

(McGraw-Hill, 1990, and Temple University Press, 1990).

Explains the principles and methods of problem-oriented

policing, provides examples of it in practice, and discusses

how a police agency can implement the concept.

• Problem-Oriented Policing and Crime

Prevention, by Anthony A. Braga (Criminal Justice

Press, 2003). Provides a through review of significant

policing research about problem places, high-activity

offenders, and repeat victims, with a focus on the

applicability of those findings to problem-oriented

policing. Explains how police departments can facilitate

problem-oriented policing by improving crime analysis,

measuring performance, and securing productive

partnerships.

• Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the

First 20 Years, by Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of

Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services,

2000). Describes how the most critical elements of

Herman Goldstein's problem-oriented policing model have

developed in practice over its 20-year history, and proposes

future directions for problem-oriented policing. The report

is also available at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

• Problem-Solving: Problem-Oriented Policing in

Newport News, by John E. Eck and William Spelman

(Police Executive Research Forum, 1987). Explains the

rationale behind problem-oriented policing and the

problem-solving process, and provides examples of

effective problem-solving in one agency.
60 Identity Theft

• Problem-Solving Tips: A Guide to Reducing Crime

and Disorder Through Problem-Solving

Partnerships by Karin Schmerler, Matt Perkins, Scott

Phillips, Tammy Rinehart and Meg Townsend. (U.S.

Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services, 1998) (also available at

www.cops.usdoj.gov). Provides a brief introduction to

problem-solving, basic information on the SARA model

and detailed suggestions about the problem-solving process.

• Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case

Studies, Second Edition, edited by Ronald V. Clarke

(Harrow and Heston, 1997). Explains the principles and

methods of situational crime prevention, and presents over

20 case studies of effective crime prevention initiatives.

• Tackling Crime and Other Public-Safety Problems:

Case Studies in Problem-Solving, by Rana Sampson

and Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of

Community Oriented Policing Services, 2000) (also available

at www.cops.usdoj.gov). Presents case studies of effective

police problem-solving on 18 types of crime and disorder

problems.

• Using Analysis for Problem-Solving: A Guidebook

for Law Enforcement, by Timothy S. Bynum (U.S.

Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services, 2001). Provides an introduction for

police to analyzing problems within the context of

problem-oriented policing.

• Using Research: A Primer for Law Enforcement

Managers, Second Edition, by John E. Eck and Nancy G.

LaVigne (Police Executive Research Forum, 1994). Explains

many of the basics of research as it applies to police

management and problem-solving.
Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 61

Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police

Problem-Specific Guides series:

1. Assaults in and Around Bars. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-00-2

2. Street Prostitution. Michael S. Scott. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-01-0

3. Speeding in Residential Areas. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-02-9

4. Drug Dealing in Privately Owned Apartment Complexes.

Rana Sampson. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-03-7

5. False Burglar Alarms. Rana Sampson. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-04-5

6. Disorderly Youth in Public Places. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-05-3

7. Loud Car Stereos. Michael S. Scott. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-06-1

8. Robbery at Automated Teller Machines. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-07-X

9. Graffiti. Deborah Lamm Weisel. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-08-8

10. Thefts of and From Cars in Parking Facilities. Ronald V.

Clarke. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-09-6

11. Shoplifting. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-10-X

12. Bullying in Schools. Rana Sampson. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-11-8

13. Panhandling. Michael S. Scott. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-12-6

14. Rave Parties. Michael S. Scott. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-13-4

15. Burglary of Retail Establishments. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-14-2

16. Clandestine Drug Labs. Michael S. Scott. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-15-0

17. Acquaintance Rape of College Students. Rana Sampson. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-16-9

18. Burglary of Single-Family Houses. Deborah Lamm Weisel.

2002. ISBN: 1-932582-17-7

19. Misuse and Abuse of 911. Rana Sampson. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-18-5
62 Identity Theft

20. Financial Crimes Against the Elderly.

Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2003. ISBN: 1-932582-22-3

21. Check and Card Fraud. Graeme R. Newman. 2003.

ISBN: 1-932582-27-4

22. Stalking. The National Center for Victims of Crime. 2004.

ISBN: 1-932582-30-4

23. Gun Violence Among Serious Young Offenders. Anthony A.

Braga. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-31-2

24. Prescription Fraud. Julie Wartell, Nancy G. La Vigne. 2004.

ISBN: 1-932582-33-9

25. Identity Theft. Graeme R. Newman. 2004 ISBN: 1-932582-35-3

Response Guides series:

• The Benefits and Consequences of Police Crackdowns.

Michael S. Scott. 2003. ISBN: 1-932582-24-X

Problem-Solving Tools series:

• Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory Guide for

Police Problem-Solvers. John E. Eck. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-19-3

Upcoming Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

Problem-Specific Guides

Crimes Against Tourists

Disorder at Budget Motels

Domestic Violence

Mentally Ill Persons

Robbery of Taxi Drivers

Student Party Disturbances on College Campuses

School Break-Ins

Street Racing

Bomb Threats in Schools

Underage Drinking
Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 63

Open-Air Drug Markets

Sexual Offenses in Public Places

Drunk Driving

Cruising

Bank Robbery

Response Guides

Closing Streets and Alleys to Reduce Crime

Problem-Solving Tools

Repeat Victimization

Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem-Solving

Other Related COPS Office Publications

• Using Analysis for Problem-Solving: A Guidebook

for Law Enforcement. Timothy S. Bynum.

• Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the First

20 Years. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

• Tackling Crime and Other Public-Safety Problems:

Case Studies in Problem-Solving. Rana Sampson and

Michael S. Scott. 2000.

• Community Policing, Community Justice, and

Restorative Justice: Exploring the Links for the

Delivery of a Balanced Approach to Public Safety.

Caroline G. Nicholl. 1999.

• Toolbox for Implementing Restorative Justice and

Advancing Community Policing. Caroline G. Nicholl.

2000.

• Problem-Solving Tips: A Guide to Reducing

Crime and Disorder Through Problem-Solving

Partnerships. Karin Schmerler, Matt Perkins, Scott

Phillips, Tammy Rinehart and Meg Townsend. 1998.
64 Identity Theft

• Bringing Victims into Community Policing. The

National Center for Victims of Crime and the Police

Foundation. 2002.

• Call Management and Community Policing. Tom

McEwen, Deborah Spence, Russell Wolff, Julie Wartell

and Barbara Webster. 2003.

• Crime Analysis in America. Timothy C. O’Shea and

Keith Nicholls. 2003.

• Problem Analysis in Policing. Rachel Boba. 2003.

• Reducing Theft at Construction Sites: Lessons

From a Problem-Oriented Project. Ronald V. Clarke

and Herman Goldstein. 2003.

• The COPS Collaboration Toolkit: How to Build,

Fix, and Sustain Productive Partnerships. Gwen O.

Briscoe, Anna T. Laszlo and Tammy A. Rinehart.

2001.

• The Law Enforcement Tech Guide: How to plan,

purchase and manage technology (successfully!).

Kelly J. Harris and William H. Romesburg. 2002.

• Theft From Cars in Center City Parking 

Facilities - A Case Study. Ronald V. Clarke and

Herman Goldstein. 2003.

For more information about the Problem-Oriented Guides for

Police series and other COPS Office publications, please call

the Department of Justice Response Center at 800.421.6770

or visit COPS Online at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

1100 Vermont Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20530

To obtain details on COPS programs, call the

COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770

Visit COPS Online at the address listed below.

e05042360 Updated Date: July 26, 2004

ISBN: 1-932582-35-5

www.cops.usdoj.gov