In one notorious case of identity theft, the criminal, a convicted felon, not only incurred more than $100,000 of credit card debt, obtained a federal home loan, and bought homes, motorcycles, and handguns in the victim's name, but called his victim to taunt him saying that he could continue to pose as the victim for as long as he wanted because identity theft was not a federal crime at that time before filing for bankruptcy, also in the victim's name. Read on to see what one can do to keep this from happening.

While the victim and his wife spent more than four years and more than $15,000 of their own money to restore their credit and reputation, the criminal served a brief sentence for making a false statement to procure a firearm, but made no restitution to his victim for any of the harm he had caused. This case, and others like it, prompted Congress in 1998 to create a new federal offense of identity theft. Read on for a brochure on how to avoid this type of headache.

Recently, I received a handy brochure (PDF) in the mail from the FTC's ID theft section. Deter, Detect, Defend. It offers a bunch of handy reminders of what to look out for when it comes to protecting your identity, and what to do if you suspect it's been stolen.

Labels: Federal Trade Commission, identity theft