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IDENTITY THEFT known to assume the identity of another family member
in order to commit financial fraud.
Identity theft refers to stealing and illegally using another
person’s identity information, including name, date of
birth, Social Security number (SSN), address, telephone
number, and bank and credit card numbers. Identity theft
has become the fastest-growing financial crime in the
United States and around the world. As Assistant U.S.
Attorney Sean B. Hoar reported, in the United States, 94
percent of financial-crime arrests in 1996 and 1997
involved identity theft, and actual losses to individuals
and financial institutions totaled $450 million in 1996
and $745 million in 1997. Over the same period, Master-
Card stated that losses because of identity theft repre-
sented about 96 percent of its member banks’ overall
fraud losses ($407 million in 1997).

METHODS OF IDENTITY THEFT
There are many methods of identity theft, but the two
most common ones are the physical theft of identification
documents and information and computer-based, cyber-
space theft. In addition, there are organized crime schemes
aimed at stealing personal information.
Physical thefts might include pickpockets stealing
purses or wallets for credit cards, driver’s licenses, pass-
ports, and checkbooks. At automated teller machine
(ATM) stations, thieves can peek over people’s shoulders
when they use credit or debit cards in an attempt to learn
the personal identification number associated with the
card. Thieves steal mail, garbage, and recycling looking for Poster unveiled at a news conference in Portland, Maine,
bank statements, credit card receipts, and other sources of January 5, 2004, where officials announced a nationwide
personal information. Even family members have been campaign to educate the public about identity theft. AP IMAGES

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