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80 Or. L. Rev. 1423 (2001)
Identity Theft: The Crime of the New Millennium

handle is hein.journals/orglr80 and id is 1433 raw text is: SEAN B. HOAR* Current Developments Identity Theft: The Crime of the New Millennium I THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM dentity theft has been referred to by some as the crime of the new millennium.' It can be accomplished anonymously, eas- ily, through a variety of means, and the consequences to the vic- tim can be devastating. Identity theft is simply the theft of identity information such as a name, date of birth, Social Security number (SSN), or a credit card number. The mundane activities of a typical consumer during the course of a regular day may provide tremendous opportunities for an identity thief: purchas- ing gasoline, meals, clothes, or tickets to an athletic event; rent- ing a car, a video, or home-improvement tools; purchasing gifts or trading stock on-line; receiving mail; or taking out the garbage or recycling. Any activity in which identity information is shared or made available to others creates an opportunity for identity theft. It is estimated that identity theft has become the fastest grow- ing financial crime in America, and perhaps, the fastest growing crime of any kind in our society.2 According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), it received the highest number of con- sumer fraud complaints in 2001. Identity theft accounted for forty-two percent of the 204,000 complaints entered into the * Assistant United States Attorney, District of Oregon. I Identity Thieves, REG. GUARD (Eugene, Or.), Apr. 30, 2000, at IA. 2 See Identity Theft: Is There Another You?: Joint Hearing Before the House Sub- comms. on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection, and on Finance and Hazardous Materials, of the House Comm. on Commerce, 106th Cong. 16 (1999) (statement of Rep. John B. Shadegg). [1423]

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