knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable state or local law.

[18 U.S.C. § 1028(a)(7)]. This Act carries with it the threat of 15 years imprisonment, a fine, and forfeiture of any personal property used or intended to be used to commit the crime.

There are a couple of things to note about this law. First, any means of identification of another person can be stolen. This can include a wide range of things including social security numbers, phone numbers, and credit card numbers. As the information age progresses and new means of identifying us are developed on the Internet, theft of those means of identification will likewise violation this Act (imagine a domain name system or database that is used to provide contact information, such as IP telephony numbers or e-mail addresses, for people).

Another thing to note is that the perpetrator has to steal your identity with the intent to do something evil. If someone mistakenly gets your identity, say by an error in a database, this does not constitute a violation of the law. When the online bookstore misidentifies your cookie, thinks that you are your local politician, and starts revealing all the dirty books that the local politician has purchased, this would not be identity theft.

If you are a victim of ID theft, there are a number of other steps you can take.

• Download a copy of FTC, ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen To Your Good Name, and follow its step by step instructions concerning what to do when you are a victim.
• Contact the fraud departments of the credit bureaus and ask that a “fraud alert” be placed in your file. Ask that you be contacted before any new accounts are authorized and request copies of your credit reports for review. The three major credit reporting companies are Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union.
• Contact any accounts that have been tampered with, close or block those accounts, and file in writing a report with their fraud department (frequently, the quicker you contact them, the less that you will be liable for).
• Contact your local police and retain a copy of the crime report. The crime report will be useful in dealing with creditors in the future. Many states have passed laws related to identity theft.
• Contact your local federal law enforcement agency for investigations under the ID Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. Your local field office of the FBI can be found in the phone book or on the FBI website. Your identity theft could likely have violated several other federal laws as well such as Mail Fraud or Social Security Fraud.
• Contact the FTC’s ID Theft Hotline: 1-877-IDTheft (1-877-438-4338).

What you do next will depend on the type of identity theft that you experienced. If your address was changed, you need to contact the Post Office. If the crime involved investments, you should contact the Security Exchange Commission. The Federal Trade Commission has a ID Theft Form entitled “Chart your Course of Action” that you can use to make sure you take all appropriate steps. If the crime has resulted in credit problems, you may need to explore your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Truth in Lending Act limits your liability for unauthorized credit card charts in most cases to $50 per cards (many companies now offer zero liability, marketing their cards as the safe card to use on the Internet).