Criminal Identity Theft

Criminal Identity Theft involves the thief/criminal and law enforcement.

Victims do not always know a crime has been committed in their name until they an issue arises, such as:

• Being Denied a Job
• Fired Unexpectedly from an "Undisclosed Conviction"
• Be Unexpectedly Detained after a Minor Traffic Stop 
• May Receive Calls from Collection Agencies
• Receive Citation Notices from the Clerk of Courts

Imagine your boss coming to you with the intention of "letting you go" because of your apparent "Criminal Record"!

The criminal may have presented false identification, using any personal information, to law enforcement to have their crime or misdemeanor placed under the victim's name.

If a citation or court order is placed and the imposter does not show up, this could bring a warrant under the victim's identity.

Victims:  Clearing one's name from the Justice System is not an easy task.  Your name may be marked not only in your State's criminal records; it may also be recorded into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).

Criminal Identity Theft Protection - FACTA
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to target the growing concern over Identity Theft and reduce risk.

The Threat to Companies
For instance, a small business that loses the personal information of their clients or employees can be held liable with fines up to $900,000 and mandatory time-off for employees of up to 600 hours.

To assist victim's and help deter acts of ID Fraud, the following factors have been put into place for the benefit of the general public:

• Free Credit Reports
  Credit Reports are accessible by the general public to take responsibility of credit monitoring.
• Credit Report Flagging (Alerts)
  By providing proof of identity to the Credit Bureau, victim's may place a fraud alert on your account.  This is effective for 90 days up to 7 years.
• Prohibiting the Printing of (Truncation) of Credit, Debit and Social Security Numbers on Receipts
  As many digits as 5 are allowed on documents and receipts to avoid being a gold mine for potential thieves and criminals.
• Victim Resources
  (A Must-Know for Businesses)
  The business or institution providing goods/services for the imposter must supply the victim with documents relating to the crime AS WELL AS copies to law enforcement agencies with which you are working.
  
  Businesses involved may only be sued by a governmental agency and cannot be held liable if they have put forth efforts to prevent Identity Theft and comply with regulations.
• Collection Agencies
  If a crime has been committed in your name, you are entitled to all of the documentation for review.  The collector is legally mandated to inform the creditor and that debt cannot be resold or placed for collection.
• Institutional Red Flags
  Fraud and Identity Theft detectors and procedures are required to be adopted by banking agencies and financial institutions.  Any change of personal information is among the 'flags' to indicate a security breach and prevent the theft from escalating.

Learn More:  www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs6a-facta.htm

Criminal Identity Theft Prevention
Precautionary measures can be taken to deter your risk of this type of ID Theft.  While all fraud is difficult to prevent completely, you can reduce the risk of incidence through the following habitual checks:

Driver's License
It is recommended to regularly check your Driver's License online.  Make sure there are not any unexpected marks or citations.  If there are any, make sure they are within your routine areas or that they can be easily explained.

Social Security
Contact the Social Security Administration for a copy of your Personal Earnings and Benefits Estimate Statement to check Identity Theft that would affect your credit.

Victims of Criminal Identity Theft
When you have become a victim of Criminal Identity Theft, we can help.
Victims of criminal identity theft are assumed guilty until proven innocent.  Not only that, the criminal information is maintained in Local, State, and Federal Criminal History Files.  Some points that must be addressed if you are a victim include:

• Contact Law Enforcement: Including the police, sheriff's department or law enforcement agency originally involved with the criminal that stole your identity. You may also contact the court agency that issued the warrant for the arrest. Inform them that this is a case of Identity Theft and that you are the Victim!
• Attorney: It is highly recommended to hire an attorney, though victims have been cleared without one.
• Impersonation Report: Once your Identity has been confirmed by the law enforcement agency through fingerprints, a photograph, and copying any photo ID (such as a driver's license, passport, or U.S. legal presence documents), the report should be filed.
• Contact the Court:  Depending on the laws of your state, the next step is to clear your identity within the Court Records.  You will need a judge or magistrate to do so.
  
  This will declare you Innocent of said charges and will be based upon investigation into your case.  Your name will be considered an 'alias' of the imposter and you will be provided with written verification of your case.

Contact a CITRMS Professional today to protect your business from Criminal Identity Theft.