Recognizing the growing problem of identity theft in the United States, the Department of Justice has just issued a document titled "Fact Sheet: The Work of the President's Identity Theft Task Force." This Fact Sheet appears to seek to provide public comfort by explaining how the government aggressively is combating identity theft head-on. So, is the government getting the job done? Read on and draw your own conclusions.

The Fact Sheet properly states that "identity theft is a crime that victimizes people and businesses in every community from major cities to small towns, and robs victims of their individual freedoms." It then goes on to proclaim that "the President's Identity Theft Task Force, co-chaired by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras, has been working diligently since its inception in May 2006 to develop a comprehensive national strategy to combat identity theft."

The Fact Sheet then predicts that starting with current interim recommendations, "the Identity Theft Task Force will improve the ability of the government and the private sector to bring identity thieves to justice, to mitigate the risks of identity theft for individuals and companies, and to assist identity-theft victims in recovering from the effects of this pernicious crime." Let's hope so.

In terms of bringing identity thieves to justice, the Fact Sheet reports that the 17 federal agencies and departments that comprise the Task Force each has specific expertise in substantive areas that impact and can contribute to the federal government's response to the problem of identity theft. Of these, it is stated that the FBI, the United States Secret Service (USSS), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General (SSA OIG) are all empowered to investigate identity theft, and that the Department of Justice brings substantial numbers of prosecutions against identity thieves. The results of these efforts are reported exactly as follows to include:

• In fiscal year 2005, the Justice Department charged 226 defendants with aggravated identity theft.
• In fiscal year 2006 (through the end of July 2006), the Justice Department charged 432 defendants with aggravated identity theft.
• The FBI reports that it has 1,587 pending identity theft-related cases. It opened 662 identity theft-related cases in 2005, and has opened 272 identity theft-related cases to date in 2006.
• The USPIS reports that it opened 1,530 identity theft-related cases and made 2,277 arrests in Fiscal Year 2005, and opened 1,012 identity theft-related cases and made 1,294 arrests in Fiscal Year 2006 (through June 30, 2006).
• The SSA OIG Office of Investigations reports that it opened 1,566 cases involving SSN misuse in Fiscal Year 2005, and 812 cases involving SSN misuse in the first half of Fiscal Year 2006.

As far as working across agencies to disrupt identity theft, federal authorities are stated in the Fact Sheet to lead or co-lead a total of 96 task forces and working groups devoted to identity theft. These are reported exactly as follows to include:

• Federal Trade Commission: The FTC provides support for criminal law enforcement through its Identity Theft Clearinghouse, the national repository of consumer complaint data. Law enforcers across the country use this secure online resource of more than 1 million complaints to identify trends and targets. This resource encourages greater coordination and data sharing among the more than 1,300 criminal enforcement agencies that have access to this system. U.S. Attorneys' Offices. U.S. Attorneys lead 17 identity-theft task forces and working groups, in cities such as Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Eugene, Oregon. Twenty-seven U.S. Attorneys' Offices participate in identity theft task forces or working groups.
• FBI: The FBI leads four identity theft task forces, and participates in 21 identity theft/financial crimes task forces or working groups in most of the major metropolitan areas. In addition, the FBI's Cyber Division has more than 90 task forces and more than 80 working groups, consisting of federal, state and local law enforcement personnel, which investigate all cybercrime violations, including identity theft and Internet fraud. Secret Service. The Secret Service has 27 Financial Crimes Task Forces and 24 Electronic Crimes Task Forces that focus on identity theft-related crimes.
• Postal Inspection Service. The Postal Inspection Service actively leads 13 Financial Crimes Task Forces/Working Groups in cities across the country.
• ICE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has established Document and Benefit Fraud Task Forces (DBFTFs) in 11 cities across the country to enhance interagency communication and improve each agency's effectiveness in fraud investigations.

With respect to providing "essential resources," the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) at the Justice Department is stated to provide funding and training for victim service programs and victim service providers at the federal, state, local and tribal levels; funding for law enforcement's, prosecutors' and crime prevention experts' efforts to address identity theft; research and program evaluation concerning identity theft through the National Institute of Justice; and data collection for policymakers on identity theft.

Now, getting to the real point – improving the government's ability to fight identity theft now, the Fact Sheet states that The Task Force will present its final strategic plan to the President in November. In advance of that plan, the Task Force has just announced interim recommendations to be implemented immediately to assist in the federal government's efforts to combat identity theft.

These interim recommendations include the formulation of step-by-step guidance to federal agencies on the actions they should take should they suffer a data breach; the development of a uniform police report that can be used by identity theft victims; an amendment to the criminal restitution statutes that would allow identity theft victims to recover for the value of the time that they spend attempting to make themselves whole; and several "good government" measures that can be taken to reduce the amount of paper currently in circulation that contain Social Security Numbers, which can be an identity thief's most valuable piece of consumer information.

Are these recommendations enough? It is difficult to know. More meat needs to be put on these bones. As we know, the devil can be in the details, so we need to see these details. However, the fact that the government appears to taking identity theft as a serious matter is a good sign.

Biography

Eric Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris. His focus includes information technology and intellectual property disputes. To receive his weekly columns, send an e-mail to with the word "Subscribe" in the subject line.

Disclaimer: This column is prepared and published for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author's law firm or its individual partners.

Reprinted with permission of Findlaw.com