Identity theft is an increasingly easy scam now that so much information is available on line, Regan warned. There were 1,147 cases of identity theft resulting in 644 convictions reported in the US during 1999 alone. The US Social Security Administration reports that over 81 percent of social security number misuse involves ID theft.
Most incidents are part of some larger, organised criminal enterprise.
He convened Tuesday's hearing to review the act's success and seek suggestions for its improvement. The act requires the Federal Trade Commission to assist ID theft victims, which it now does, in part, via a Web page here . In spite of recent efforts to address the problem, victims often find that recovering their identity is immensely more difficult than losing it. Her suggestion for amending the bill would require merchants and credit agencies to develop a single, unified protocol for victim notification. Having considerable personal experience with filling out American tax returns, we can say without hesitation that the victim is being punished quite severely here, and can only offer our hope that the criminals might suffer half as much.