Identity Theft Laws:Knowing Your Rights
With the rise of criminal activities relating to stolen personal details the Government has taken a tough stance against these crimes.
This comes in the form of passing two important identity theft prevention acts.
You should take the time to understand and increase your knowledge on this subject.
The two acts are:
- Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) and the
- Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act
Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA)
This act was passed for the purpose of stemming the increase of financial identity fraud and the formulation of a national system to improve the detection of this type of felony. FACTA also aims to protect the consumers who are victims of identity theft as well as helping to prevent others from becoming victims.
Under FACTA you have certain rights if have become or suspect you've become a victim identity theft and fraud. These rights include the following:
You have the right under FACTA to place fraud alerts on your credit files if your financial details have been compromised or even if you suspect they have. Your credit file or report is a very important document that lenders use to determine your credit worth.
They use the information to approve your applications for credit whether that be a credit cards, cell phones or a mortgage. By placing a fraud alert on your credit file this warns potential lenders that your details may have been compromised which means the lender will take more cautionary steps when approving credit applications in your name.
- Free Disclosure Of Your Credit Reports
An effective way you can reduce your risk of credit card fraud is to check your credit reports on a regular basis. You can now obtain a copy of your 3 annual credit reports for free from the FTC site annualcreditreport.com. The report contains data about your credit and payment history, the amount of debt you owe and negative information relating to loan defaults and late payments. You also have the right to access your reports if you suspect fraud.
The report also contains records of your transactions. By checking these with your credit card and bank statements you can identity any fraudulent activity. You can also check to ensure the information in your report is accurate and up to date. You have also the right to dispute any details that are wrong or out of date.
- Disclosure of Transactional Fraud
This means that you have the right to access any files or information relating to fraudulent activity from the creditor or company where the fraud originated.
You have the right to access information that has been attained or recorded with a debt collector and were that information has been used or suspected to have been used to steal your identity and commit fraud.
- Removal of Debts Caused By Fraud
If you can prove any debts on your credit report have originated from criminal activity then you have the right to order the relevant bureau to remove that entry from your file. As credit bureaus have no obligation to inform your creditors of this it would be in your best interests to inform them yourself as you also have the right to ask them to remove the debt record from their database.
The best way to prove a fraudulent debt is to file a complaint with the police. If the case is proven that you have been a victim of identity fraud this will be recorded on your police report which you can present to the credit bureaus as evidence to remove the fraudulent record. Once proven the bureaus can no longer share this information to other companies or third parties.
If debt collectors continue to harass you over this debt then this is a violation of the act and you should inform of this and with proof of your police report you can ask them to politely to back off or you will take the matter up with your attorney.
Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act
This act was passed by congress in July 2004 to stem the rise of identity theft, protect its victims and enable the police and the courts to enforce tougher criminal penalties and imprisonment to those who take part in the stealing and trafficking of personal identities.
Under this act anyone who is convicted of stealing another individuals personal records or credit card numbers with the aim committing crime will be imprisoned for up to two years. There is also a national security element to this act which the federal government are keen to enforce.
Anyone who steals personal data for the purpose of committing terrorist acts and offences can face a jail sentence up to 5 years. This can mean that the criminal does not have to be directly involved with actual terrorist activities to be prosecuted.
One of the key reasons why the law enforcement agencies found it difficult to deter this type of crime was the lack of a tough sentencing when a case was brought to court. This created a situation were the police and prosecutors where not motivated to put in the time and effort in catching these criminals because there was no guarantee that the identity theft punishment would be strong or appropriate enough for the crime committed
As well as personal ID theft the act also focuses on business crime. The also gives greater responsibility to the U.S sentencing commission to prosecute employees with longer prison sentences if they are convicted of stealing valuable information from their employer.
|