New Identity Theft Law Means More Reparation Money for Victims
Late last month, President Bush signed a new identity theft law in an attempt to help the increasing numbers of victims affected by this insidious crime. Previously, the requirements to be met to allow prosecution of cyber-crime were so high as to allow many hackers to slip through the cracks.
Felony Charges May Now Apply
Identity theft is the number one offense associated with computer based crimes, and usually involves some sort of computer based fraud, unauthorized access or tampering, or even hacking into government or state owned computer systems. The new law makes many of these acts a felony.
In the past, victims of identity theft were often left adrift after being targeted by cyber crook – they had to spend untold hours and resources attempting to clear up the mess left behind after an incident of stolen identity took place. Any crime taking place within the confines of one state was not able to be prosecuted to the full extent it should be, since federal jurisdiction only applied if interstate communication was used to access a victim’s information.
Now, even if the victim and criminal live in the same state, federal prosecutors will be able to bring a case for computer fraud more easily, and the definition of cyber-extortion has also been enhanced to provide access to more avenues for prosecution. The minimum limit of $5000 that must be involved before charges of unauthorized access to a computer can be brought is being done away with, and the scope of cyber crime is being expanded as defined by law.
The Unseen Costs of Identity Theft
Identity theft victims face not only loss of monies through fraudulent use of their credit or bank accounts, but can have their entire lives derailed by loss of benefits such as state or federal aid for schooling, funding for houses or cars and even insurance due to their identity being associated with fraudulent acts. Some people have even been arrested for crimes committed by identity thieves using their names and identification, and reparations for this type of complete disruption is usually just a burden the victim has to bear
Now at least the time and effort these people have to invest just to clear their name may be compensated. Under the new law, while lost opportunities are still not addressed, at least an additional amount to help cover the costs of straightening things out may be ordered along with the initial monetary reparation. Hopefully this along with the more severe penalties being proposed for identity theft will make thieves think twice before assuming someone else’s persona in order to commit fraud.
