FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AG

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2007 (202) 514-2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

Department of Justice Proposes Update

to Identity Theft Laws
Proposal Seeks to Amend Gaps in Current Statutes
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today submitted to Congress new
proposed legislation that seeks to update and improve current laws aimed at
protecting Americans from the increasingly sophisticated crime of identity theft.

The proposed bill, titled the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2007,
was a significant recommendation included in the final strategic plan from the
President’s Task Force on Identity Theft released in April 2007. The strategic plan
was the result of an unprecedented federal effort to formulate a comprehensive and
fully coordinated plan to attack identity theft at all levels in the public and private
sectors.

Among other provisions, the proposed legislation seeks to ensure that victims of
identity theft can recover the value of the time lost attempting to repair damage
inflicted by identity theft. Under current law, restitution to victims from convicted
thieves is available only for the direct financial costs of identity theft offenses.

“Identity theft has impacted the lives of millions in the United States, and its
perpetrators are constantly inventing new ways to commit their crimes,” said
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. “This proposed legislation is a firm step in
the right direction in updating our identity theft laws to meet the needs of
investigators and prosecutors who are working daily to punish identity thieves, and
help victims put their lives back together.”

The new legislation would also close gaps in the current identity theft, and
aggravated identity theft statutes. Both of these statutes are limited to stealing the
identity of an individual, and do not specifically address the misuses of
identification of a corporation or organization. The proposed legislation would
amend the identity theft and aggravated identity theft statutes to ensure that identity
thieves who steal information belonging to corporations and organizations can be
prosecuted, and would add several new crimes to the list of aggravated identity theft
offenses.
“These new tools would enhance criminal enforcers’ ability to crack down on
malicious identity thieves and help victims recover,” said Deborah Platt Majoras,
Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. “Each element of the Identity Theft
Task Force’s recommendations improves our ability to reduce crime, assist victims,
and raise awareness.”

Additional provisions in the proposed legislation include:

Ensuring that federal law enforcement has jurisdiction over the theft of sensitive
identity information by closing a loophole in the current statute. Under the proposed
Act, federal jurisdiction could be obtained if the victim computer is used in
interstate or foreign commerce, the same standard used in other computer hacking
offenses.

Assuring that federal law appropriately penalizes identity thieves for the use of
malicious spyware and keyloggers; tools used to look in on private computers, and
record key strokes.

Expanding the scope of the “cyber extortion” provision so that it covers such crimes
as threats to steal or corrupt data on a victim’s computer.

The Identity Theft Task Force, co-chaired by the Attorney General and the FTC
Chairman, was established by Executive Order of the President on May 10, 2006,
and is comprised of 17 federal agencies and departments. The Task Force’s strategic
plan, released in April 2007, can be found at http://www.idtheft.gov.

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