Good morning and welcome to the second in a series of hearings the
Subcommittee has held on fraudulent financial instruments and identity theft.
If you are an honest person, as most people in this country are, you probably
have a hard time understanding how someone with criminal intent could
actually assume another person's identity. It is difficult enough for most of us
to produce the proper identification to prove who we are for purposes of
cashing a check or traveling overseas. Attempting to impersonate someone
else seems not only difficult but rife with the risk of being apprehended.
In fact, identity theft is neither difficult nor risky. There are books, videotapes, and websites detailing, step by step, the process of assuming another person's identity. I have a few of those publications with me today. Furthermore, identity theft and its companion crimes often go uninvestigated and unprosecuted, and the criminals know it. In many cases, there is no appropriate law enforcement authority to investigate these crimes because they generally occur in multiple jurisdictions. Others are not pursued because the financial losses do not meet the established thresholds for prosecution. For the victims, however, identity theft can result not only in financial losses, but in the loss of reputation and security which are difficult to recover.
It is important for us to realize that the witnesses who appear before the
Subcommittee today have all been through an experience many of us cannot
fathom.
Having your identity stolen is like having your house robbed (except that no
law enforcement seems to have jurisdiction over the crime). It's often not the
material loss that hurts the most, it's the sense of violation that the victim feels
at having his home invaded. When a criminal assumes your identity, that
sense of violation is even more acute and enduring. The criminal has the
ability to repeatedly violate the same individual's identity. We have testimony
which will be submitted for the record by one of our witnesses who could not
appear in person today who found that it was not only his credit history which
had been violated by someone who assumed his identity, but that this
individual had actually committed criminal acts and been sentenced to prison
under the victim's identity. The insidious nature of these acts must be
countered so that these victims will have somewhere to turn to seek
assistance.
Since our first hearing on this subject last fall, the Subcommittee has
continued its investigation and it has received numerous additional reports of
identity theft. Ironically, one of my Subcommittee investigators had his credit
card stolen and had over $3,000 charged to his account. This caused him to
exceed his credit limit on that card and he was therefore without a credit card
during a part of the Christmas holidays. I have discovered that a significant
number of individuals on my own staff have had similar experiences.
Today we will hear from some victims of identity theft who have come to
Washington at their own expense to tell their stories. We also will hear from
the Secret Service on how difficult it is to investigate these crimes, obtain
prosecution, and imprison the guilty. It is my hope that by bringing these
disturbing stories out in an open forum, we will make individuals more aware
of the problem so they can take appropriate precautions.
I will also be looking for guidance and help from the Secret Service in drafting
a piece of legislation which should: 1) clearly identify a single federal agency
with jurisdiction to investigate and help prosecute the criminals involved in
these crimes, 2) lower the threshold amounts required before an investigation
can begin to a reasonable level, and 3) provide sufficient funds to accomplish
these missions.
With that, I will introduce our four witnesses. On the first panel, Darylle
Goodfield, Wayne Matus, and Sue Carter will share with us their experiences
regarding identity theft. Mr. Matus, Chairman D'Amato had hoped to be here
to introduce you himself, but he was called away and asked me to give you
a warm welcome and thank you for your efforts. On the second panel, we will
hear from James Bauer of the Secret Service, who will describe the relative
ease with which these crimes are committed and the challenges faced by the
Secret Service in trying to investigate them. Joining him to give us a
demonstration of the how identity theft is accomplished will be Mary Riley also
of the Secret Service.
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