IDENTITY THEFT Allyson W Haynes Assistant Professor of
- Slides: 8
IDENTITY THEFT Allyson W. Haynes Assistant Professor of Law Charleston School of Law
What is identity theft? Use of an individual’s personal information, particularly financial information and social security numbers, to impersonate that individual – usually via credit card acquisition, etc. How does it come about? n Hacking n Phishing/vishing n Poor disposal methods
How prevalent is identity theft? Average 4% of adult population victims n Online personal information disasters Choicepoint Lexis. Nexis VA records theft n
What are relevant laws governing identity theft? Federal Legislation n n n Fair Credit Reporting Act “FACT” Act Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Electronic Communications Privacy Act CAN-SPAM Act Gramm-Leach-Bliley
Relevant law continued State Legislation n State spam laws Security breach notification laws State criminal identity theft statutes Common law n Huggins v. Citi. Bank NA, 585 S. E. 2 d 275 (S. C. 2003) (no tort of “negligent enablement of imposter fraud” in SC)
What recourse does a victim have? n n Notifying companies who might have been used by the identity thief Notifying government agencies Monitoring and/or freezing credit report Suit for failure to use adequate security pursuant to federal statute
How can identity theft be prevented? Beware of providing social security numbers Do not provide any personal information or passwords in response to unsolicited email Avoid use of easily obtainable passwords Be careful what you reveal on online networking sites or other public sites Secure or shred information-laden documents
CONCLUSION
