NCJ Number
210693
Date Published
2002
Length
148 pages
Annotation
Testimony before a joint hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the House Subcommittee on Social Security focuses on ways to prevent identity theft by terrorists and criminals.
Abstract
Statements by Subcommittee members and witnesses indicate that terrorists, notably those involved in the September 11th attacks, used stolen personal information (identity theft) to impersonate individuals in order to avoid detection while operating in the United States. Criminals have stolen personal information of both living and deceased persons to commit financial fraud while impersonating those whose identity they have stolen. Much of the focus of the testimony was on ways to prevent the theft of Social Security numbers to conceal personal identity and commit frauds. Attention is given to the rapid and accurate maintenance of the Death Master File in order to help guard against identity thieves use of the Social Security numbers (SSNs) of deceased persons. The rapid distribution of this information to financial industries is also a concern, since identity thieves act quickly to use the SSNs of deceased persons to perpetrate frauds that involve financial institutions. Steps are suggested for improving the distribution and use of such death information in order to block terrorists' and criminals' use of such SSNs at points of identification and in the course of financial transactions. Attention is given to the provisions of H.R. 2036, the Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2001, which is intended to enhance privacy protections for individuals and prevent the fraudulent misuse of a person's SSN.