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Identity Theft Survey Report 2003 - Most important action that would have helped. · When asked what could have been done to help fix the problems victims experienced as a
result of Identity Theft, the action most frequently cited by victims who spent at least 10
hours of their time resolving problems was to improve the investigation by law enforcement
after the crime had been committed. Specific proposals mentioned included a stronger
commitment to catching the thief or thieves, better follow-up and communication with the
victim, and increased assistance from local law enforcement. On a related note, victims
also recommended stiffer penalties for offenders.
· Many victims thought better awareness on their own part of how to prevent and respond to
identity theft would have been most helpful. Specific areas where greater awareness was
cited included taking greater security precautions in handling their personal information,
such as destroying materials that contain personal information instead of simply putting
them in the trash, not placing personal information on the Internet, and securing their
personal information in their homes and at work. Maintaining greater vigilance, such as
monitoring their mail, billing cycles, and Credit Reports more carefully was also cited. Lastly,
knowing who to contact, and notifying the affected companies and Credit Reporting agencies more quickly when they detected something wrong, was identified as an important factor in
recovering from identity theft.
· Other victims mentioned things financial institutions could do to detect and prevent the
crime. Respondents cited improved authentication measures, such as photographs on
Credit Cards and more thorough identification procedures by employees during credit
transactions. Respondents also mentioned financial institutions, including Credit Reporting
agencies, making greater efforts to monitor their account activity and notify them when
unusual transactions occurred.
· Many respondents thought that improved follow-up and assistance by the financial
community as they attempted to repair their records would help. Specific proposals
included making the recovery process easier by reducing the number of documents the
victim had to sign, and listening to the victim and treating them with more understanding and
less suspicion.
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