Identity Theft Penalty
Enhancement Act - July 2004
Identity Theft Penaly Enhancement Act
This act was passed July 15, 2004. The name of this act has never been changed.
The Motive
President Bush stated that about 10 million people had their identity stolen from them by criminals who used their information to deprive them from their money. The criminals also used the information to rob nearly $50 billion through illegal transactions in businesses.
Justifications
the reason criminals chose this route, was they needed money, but went about it unlawfully.
Specific Actions
Online account victims lost $1.2 billion to identify theft related fraud from April 2003 to April 2004.
Who is Affected? Who is Helped?
Many people are affected by this act. Normal everyday people are affected by this act. Everyone who has been affected by identity theft benefits from this act. Thieves now have harsher punishments if convicted of these crimes. New laws helps figure out larger criminal businesses because many identity thieves work in groups.