July 11, 2005
(Computerworld)
WASHINGTON — A U.S. center that helps victims of identity theft plans to share consumer complaint information with the Federal Trade Commission and law enforcement agencies to improve investigations.
The Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC) will begin sharing information such as the types of scams reported and suspected offenders identified by victims, the center announced last week. The ITAC is supported by 48 large financial services companies.
The center plans to provide the FTC with that information in about six weeks. The FTC, in turn, will share the data with law enforcement agencies across the U.S.
ITAC officials hope such information sharing will help police investigate identity theft crimes, according to Anne Wallace, executive director of Identity Theft Assistance Corp., the Washington-based nonprofit organization that operates the center.
The ITAC will share information only when victims give their permission, she said.
In many cases of identity theft, local law enforcement agencies don't have information about identity theft investigations in bordering counties or cities, Wallace said.
With millions of identity theft cases reported in the U.S. each year, small cases that have no obvious links to other local cases can end up on an investigative back burner, she said.
Getting the Big Picture
Investigators "don't have the big picture in many cases," Wallace said. "The goal is to allow investigators to find more than one case—to make links between multiple cases."
In the past, financial services companies often shared identity theft data with local law enforcement agencies, but there was no national data-sharing effort, she said.
The FTC and ITAC have had a working relationship since the center was founded in October 2003, Wallace said.
The FTC also has relationships with about 1,200 law enforcement agencies across the U.S., added Lois Greisman, an associate director in charge of the identity theft program at the FTC.
The ITAC is supported by members of the industry group The Financial Services Roundtable and its IT sister organization, BITS. ITAC's goal is to help victims of identity theft resolve their problems.
Among the supporting companies are BB&T Corp., Ford Motor Credit Co., MBNA Corp., U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo & Co.
Gross writes for the IDG News Service.
Identity Theft Hot Spots
States with the most incidents of identity theft per capita:
1. ARIZONA
2. NEVADA
3. CALIFORNIA
4. TEXAS
5. FLORIDA
Source: Federal Trade Commission, 2004