Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998

Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998
Short Title	Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998
Official Text	Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998
Country/Jurisdiction	United States
State or Province
Regulatory Bodies	FTC
Date Enacted	1998/03/30
Scope of the Law	Individuals
Information
Taxonomy	Aggregation, Decisional Interference, Distortion, Identification, Insecurity
Strategies

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The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act protects individuals from personal identification information maintained by any authority fraud and theft.

Text of the law

SEC. 3. IDENTITY FRAUD. ^{Insecurity, Identification}

(a) Establishment of Offense.--

(1) In general.--Chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Sec. 1036. Identity fraud

``(a) Definitions.--In this section--

``(1) the term `communication facility' has the meaning given that term in section 403(b) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 843(b));

``(2) the term `means of identification' means any name or number that may be used, alone or in conjunction with any other information, to assume the identity of an individual, including any-- ^Identifying "Personal#list" contains a listed "#" character as part of the property label and has therefore been classified as invalid.

``(A) personal identification card (as that term is defined in section 1028); or

``(B) access device, counterfeit access device, or unauthorized access device (as those terms are defined in section 1029); ^{Computer Device} "Personal#list" contains a listed "#" character as part of the property label and has therefore been classified as invalid.

``(3) the term `personal identifier' means--

``(A) a name, social security number, date of birth, official State or government issued driver's license or identification number, alien registration number, government passport number, employer or taxpayer identification number, or any access device (as that term is defined in section 1029); ^{Identifying, Computer Device, Authenticating} "Personal#list" contains a listed "#" character as part of the property label and has therefore been classified as invalid.

``(B) any unique biometric data, such as a fingerprint, voice print, retina or iris image, or other unique physical representation; ^Behavioral "Personal#list" contains a listed "#" character as part of the property label and has therefore been classified as invalid.

``(C) any unique electronic identification number, address, or routing code; or ^{Authenticating} "Personal#list" contains a listed "#" character as part of the property label and has therefore been classified as invalid.

``(D) any other means of identification not lawfully issued to the user;

``(4) the term `identification device' means any physical, mechanical, or electronic representation of a personal identifier or any personal information or data; and ^{Identifying, Demographic} "Personal#list" contains a listed "#" character as part of the property label and has therefore been classified as invalid.

``(5) the term `personal information or data' means any information that, when used in conjunction with a personal identifier or identification device, would facilitate a misrepresentation or assumption of the identity of another. ^Identifying "Personal#list" contains a listed "#" character as part of the property label and has therefore been classified as invalid.

``(b) Prohibition.--Whoever in interstate or foreign commerce, or through the use of a communication facility, knowingly, with intent to defraud, and in order to receive payment or any other thing of value the aggregate value of which is equal to or greater than $1,000--

``(1) receives, acquires, obtains, purchases, sells, transfers, traffics in, or steals, or attempts to receive, acquire, obtain, purchase, sell, transfer, traffic in, or steal, or otherwise causes or solicits another to do the same, any personal identifier, identification device, personal information or data, or other document or means of identification of any entity or person; ^{Identification, Distortion, Decisional Interference}

``(2) possesses or uses, or attempts to possess or use, or otherwise causes or solicits another to do the same, any personal identifier, identification device, personal information or data, or other document or means of identification of any entity or person; or

``(3) assumes, adopts, takes, acquires, or uses, or attempts to assume, adopt, take, acquire, or use, or otherwise causes or solicits another to do the same, the identity of any entity or person;

shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both.

``(c) Conspiracy.--Whoever is a party to a conspiracy of 2 or more persons to commit an offense described in subsection (b), if any of the parties engages in any conduct in furtherance of the offense, shall be fined in an amount not to exceed the amount of the fine to which that person would be subject for that offense under subsection (b), imprisoned not more than 7.5 years, or both..

(2) Investigative authority.--In addition to any other agency having such authority, the United States Secret Service may investigate any offense under section 1036 of title 18, United States Code (as added by this subsection), except that the exercise of investigative authority under this paragraph shall be subject to the terms of an agreement, which shall be entered into by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General.

(3) Sentencing enhancement.--Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to provide for sentencing enhancements under chapter 2 of the Federal sentencing guidelines for a defendant who is convicted of an offense under section 1036 of title 18, United States Code, in connection with an offense under section 513, 514, 1028, 1029, 1341, 1342, 1343, 1344, or 1708 of title 18, United States Code, as follows:

(A) A sentencing enhancement of--

(i) 1 level, if the offense involves not more than 1 victim;

(ii) 2 levels, if the offense involves not less than 2 and not more than 4 victims; or

(iii) 3 levels, if the offense involves 5 or more victims.

(B) An appropriate sentencing enhancement, if the offense involves stealing or destroying a quantity of undelivered United States mail, in violation of section 1702, 1703, 1708, 1709, 2114, or 2115 of title 18, United States Code.

(C) An appropriate sentencing enhancement based on the potential loss (as opposed to the actual loss) that could have resulted from an identity theft offense (i.e. the line of credit of the access device, etc.).

(4) Clerical amendment.--The analysis for chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``1036. Identity fraud..

(b) Forfeiture of Contraband.--Section 80302(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``or at the end;

(2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

``(7) an identification document, false identification document, or a document-making implement (as those terms are defined in sections 1028 and 1029 of title 18) involved in a violation of section 1028 or 1029 of title 18;

``(8) a counterfeit access device, device-making equipment, or scanning receiver (as those terms are defined in sections 1028 and 1029 of title 18); or

``(9) a means of identification (as that term is defined in section 1036) involved in a violation of section 1036..

(c) Restitution.--Section 3663A of title 18, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in subsection (c)(1)(A)--

(A) in clause (ii), by striking ``or at the end;

(B) in clause (iii), by striking ``and at the end and inserting ``or; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

``(iv) an offense described in section 1036 (relating to identity fraud); and; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

``(e) Identity Fraud.--Making restitution to a victim under this section for an offense described in section 1036 (relating to identity fraud) may include payment for any costs, including attorney fees, incurred by the victim--

``(1) in clearing the credit history or credit rating of the victim; or

``(2) in connection with any civil or administrative proceeding to satisfy any debt, lien, or other obligation of the victim arising as a result of the actions of the defendant..

(d) Identity Fraud Information and Study; Inclusion in Suspicious Activity Reports.--

(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--

(A) the term ``financial institution has the same meaning as in section 20 of title 18, United States Code; and

(B) the term ``identity fraud means an offense described in section 1036 of title 18, United States Code (as added by subsection (a) of this section).

(2) Identity fraud information.--Beginning not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the United States Secret Service of the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice, in consultation with financial institutions and other interested private entities, shall collect and maintain information and statistical data relating to-- ^{Aggregation, Insecurity}

(A) the number of identity fraud offenses investigated;

(B) the number of prosecutions and convictions for identity fraud; and

(C) any information provided by State and local law enforcement agencies relating to the investigation of identity fraud.

(3) Identity fraud study.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, the Attorney General, and the Postmaster General shall--

(A) conduct a comprehensive study of--

(i) the nature, extent, and causes of identity fraud; and

(ii) the threat posed by identity fraud to--

(I) financial institutions and payment systems; and

(II) consumer safety and privacy; and

(B) based on the results of that study, submit to Congress a report including an evaluation of the effectiveness of the provisions of this Act and the amendments made by this Act and, if necessary, specific recommendations for legislation to address the problem of identity fraud.

(4) Suspicious activity reports.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to include identity fraud as a separate characterization of suspicious activity for purposes of reports by financial institutions of suspicious transactions under section 5318(g) of title 31, United States Code.

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