Sometimes it’s hard to see the progress being made in the fight against identity theft, especially when you’re on the front lines.  That’s why I was encouraged by data from the 2010 Javelin Strategy & Research Identity Fraud Survey Report showing that more than half of identity theft victims surveyed filed police reports, resulting in a significant increase in arrests and convictions.

ITAC co-sponsored the report because we believe the fight against identity theft has to be guided by facts, not anecdotes.  My instinct – my hope – was that new state laws requiring local law enforcement to take reports of identity crime from consumers, plus the efforts of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, were paying off.  Still, it’s gratifying to see the hard numbers showing a nearly 50% increase in reporting.

The fact consumers are serving as their own victim advocates is particularly heartening to those of us who believe that an active partnership among consumers, industry and law enforcement is critical to fighting identity fraud.   Identity theft is far too pervasive and complex a crime to be addressed by a single entity.  Consumers and the private sector can provide law enforcement with valuable information to investigate individual crimes and identity theft rings.

Consumers should know that law enforcement, at all levels, recognize the seriousness of identity crime and its impact on individuals, the economy and national security.  Police have new online resources they can use to investigate identity fraud.  The National Governor’s Association brings together law enforcement though out the country to share resources and collaborate on solutions for helping victims.  Regional identity theft task forces – including the Richmond Identity Theft Task Force in Richmond, Virginia –  facilitate information sharing.  On the national level, the Obama administration’s newly established cyber security czar will focus on terrorist organizations that use fraud to finance their operations.

As a result of these efforts, we’re seeing bigger busts and stiffer sentences.  A recent success story involves the conviction of the ringleader of a $1.5 million identity-theft ring that victimized Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.  Leonardo Zanders paid pickpockets and professional office employees to steal identifying information that he and others used to steal cash from bank accounts.  One of those pickpockets grabbed a pocketbook from Bernanke’s wife at a D.C. Starbucks. He then used her driver’s license and checkbook to cash $900 in checks from their bank account.  Zanders has been sentenced to 17 years in prison and ordered to pay back $1.4 million.

I’d like to see the private sector do a better job working with law enforcement when identity theft strikes their clients and customers.  Financial services companies were the first to pool information on identity theft for law enforcement.  Prior to the establishment of ITAC five years ago, companies shared information about identity theft cases on a company-by-company basis.  ITAC aggregates the data among many companies and shares it with hundreds of law enforcement agencies through the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  Zane Hill, deputy chief postal inspector, recently told us:  “Over the past five years Postal Inspectors identified and arrested suspects due to information gathered by ITAC.  The U.S. Postal Inspection Service values its partnership with ITAC.”

Other companies that handle sensitive consumer data – such as retailers and healthcare providers – should consider adopting the ITAC model to resolve identity theft crime and help law enforcement investigate the crime.

We still have a long way to go.  Filing a police report can still be a frustrating experience in municipalities that lack the resources to receive and investigate reports.  Consumers who are victimized by a friend or family member can be embarrassed or intimated and opt not to file a report at all.  We need to do a better job educating consumers it can be hard, and often seemingly fruitless, to file a report, but it’s the right thing to do.

As a true believer in the “we’re in this fight together” credo, this new data gives me hope that next year we’ll see a decline in identity theft and a further escalation in the rate of arrests and convictions.

Related posts:

1. Identity Fraud Fact: Little Guy is Big Target Banking and financial services providers may continue to feel the...
2. The IDGuardian Podcast: Episode #007 — Concerns with Small Businesses Welcome to the IDGuardian Podcast. These audio and video columns...
3. Searching for Bright Spots: A Privacy Microscope on 2010 The easiest thing to do in scoping out the electronic...
4. The IDGuardian Podcast: Episode #005 — Threats Facing Consumers Online Welcome to the IDGuardian Podcast. These audio and video columns...
5. Reflections from a Black Hat Hackers’ Conference (Part Two) The following special blog post is the conclusion of a...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.