False personation laws have been enacted at both the state and federal levels to prevent individuals from falsely assuming another person's identity to gain benefits or cause harm. Prior to 1998, these crimes were prosecuted under false personation statutes, but the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 made identity theft a separate federal crime with increased penalties of up to 15 years in prison. Subsequent laws like the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act of 2004 and Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2008 further strengthened penalties for identity theft and provided restitution for victims.

1. The crime of falsely assuming the identity of another
to gain a benefit or avoid an expense.

2. False Personation
 Prior to 1998, crimes that would now be considered
identity theft were charged under "false personation"
statutes, which go back to the late 19th century.

3. False Personation
 The crime of falsely assuming the identity of another
person in order to gain a benefit or cause harm to the
other person can be referred to as false personation or
false impersonation. False personation laws have been
enacted at both the state and federal levels to protect
the dignity, reputation, and economic well-being of the
individual being impersonated. Further, these statutes
deter criminals by discouraging the impersonator's
pursuit of benefits.

4. False Personation
 A false impersonator need not alter her or his voice,
wear a disguise, or otherwise change her or his
characteristics or appearance in order to be found guilty.
False personation simply involves passing oneself off as
another person. For example, an individual who
misrepresents herself to be someone else in order to
wrongfully cash that person's paycheck commits false
personation.

5. False Personation
 The person impersonated must be real, not fictitious. If
a police officer pulls a driver over for speeding, and the
driver pretends to be his brother, the driver is guilty of
false personation. His brother is an actual person, and
the crime of false personation is designed to take
advantage of his brother's reputation and driving record.

6. Federal Identity Theft Laws

7. Identity Theft and Assumption
Deterrence Act of 1998
 It wasn’t until Congress passed the Identity Theft and
Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 that identity theft
was officially listed as a federal crime. The act
strengthened the criminal laws governing identity theft.

8. Identity Theft and Assumption
Deterrence Act of 1998 accomplished
four things
 1st) It made identity theft a separate crime against the individual
whose identity was stolen and credit destroyed. Previously,
victims had been defined solely by financial loss and often the
emphasis was on banks and other financial institutions, rather
than on individuals.

9. Identity Theft and Assumption
Deterrence Act of 1998
 2nd) It established the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
as the Federal Government’s one central point of contact
for reporting instances of identity theft by creating the
Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse.

10. Identity Theft and Assumption
Deterrence Act of 1998
 3rd) It increased criminal penalties for identity theft and
fraud. Specifically, the crime now carries a maximum
penalty of 15 years imprisonment and substantial fines.

11. Identity Theft and Assumption
Deterrence Act of 1998
 4th) It closed legal loopholes, which previously had made
it a crime to produce or possess false identity
documents, but not to steal another personal’s personal
identifying information.

12. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
(FDCPA)
 Prohibits debt collectors from using unfair or deceptive practices
to collect overdue bills that a creditor has forwarded for collection.

13. Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
and the Fair and Accurate Credit
Transactions Act (FACTA) of 2003
 FCRA is the law governing the accuracy and privacy of credit
reports. FACTA amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act in 2003 to
strengthen and add to the protections for victims of identity theft.
These laws require consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) and
creditors to help victims recover from identity theft, and allow
consumers to place alerts on their credit files if they are or believe
they may become victims of identity theft.
 Consumers have the right to dispute inaccurate information, and
CRAs and creditors must investigate the claim and correct
information if it is inaccurate. The laws also entitle consumers to a
free credit report once per year from each of the three credit
reporting agencies.
 As part of the responsibilities under FACTA, the Federal Trade
Commission and the federal financial agencies established "Red
Flag Rules" requiring creditors and financial institutions to
establish programs designed to address identity theft.

14. Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement
Act of 2004
 This act establishes penalties for "aggravated" identity
theft, which is using the identity of another person to commit
felony crimes, including immigration violations, theft of another’s
Social Security benefits, and acts of domestic terrorism.

15. Identity Theft Enforcement and
Restitution Act of 2008
 This act to make it clear that restitution orders for identity theft
cases may include an amount equal to the value of the victim’s
time spent remediating the actual or intended harm of the identity
theft or aggravated identity theft.
 The new law also allows federal courts to prosecute when the
criminal and the victim live in the same state. Under previous law,
federal courts only had jurisdiction if the thief uses interstate
communication to access the victim’s PII.

16. Compiled and designed by Mark Fullbright , Certified
Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist™ (CITRMS) as
a free service for consumers to protect themselves from
identity theft
Stay Safe, Stay Secure
Office for Victims of Crime
810 Seventh Street NW., Eighth Floor, Washington, DC 20531
The Office for Victims of Crime is a component of the Office of
Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.