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more_legal_areas consumer_fraudWith the incidence of identity fraud continuing to escalate, it is expected that the increase in litigation because of identify fraud will also rise. According to a Federal Trade Commission report, an estimated 27.3 million Americans have been the victims of identity fraud in the last five years, with 9.9 million occurring in the last year. While there has been varying estimations for the number of identity fraud occurring every year, all reports are consistent in that they show it is continuing to greatly increase over the years.
Becoming a victim of identity fraud is believed to be a one in four chance. Most discrepancy in figures is thought to occur because individuals do not always become immediately aware that they have become the target of identity fraud. In 1998, Congress passed legislation in attempts to curb identity fraud by mandating the FTC establish a system to assess the issue, as well as to provide basic information to consumers that believed they had been targeted by identity fraud.
When identity fraud occurs, a person has gained access to a person''s personal data in a fraudulent or deceptive way with the intents of making a financial gain. Access to personal information has become more widespread with the growing use of the Internet, though must people do not realize how easily this information can be obtained. Once enough information on a person has been gathered, the criminal can carry through a wide range of crimes that can include other violations like identification fraud, credit card fraud, computer fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, or financial institution fraud.
Collecting losses if becoming a victim of identity fraud can be very difficult, making the importance of retaining a reputable identity fraud lawyer essential. Approaching identity fraud recovery will vary, especially depending on the state and time lapse from the crime to legal action. Some individuals will try to recovery losses by suing lenders under state law for allowing criminals to receive credit, however this legal attempt has had different outcomes mostly based on jurisdiction.
Some identity fraud victims will also try to make claims against financial services companies and credit reporting agencies under FCRA. These claims will also have changeable outcomes, especially since there is a statute of limitations of two years from the date of the alleged identity fraud, without taking into consideration when the crime was learned. December 4, 2003, President Bush signed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act to amend the FCRA in hopes of more specifically targeting identity fraud problems.
Now, new requirements under FCRA establishes a procedure so that consumers are able to request credit reporting agencies and lenders block reporting of information that has reportedly been the reason identity fraud sometimes occurs. The U.S. Department of Justice recommends people be stingy about giving out personal information regardless of where unless there is a definite reason for trust, regularly check financial information to make sure everything present is as it should be, periodically ask for a copy of your credit report, and properly maintain careful records of banking and financial accounts.
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