Identity Theft Is on Rise in State

Greater international cooperation is needed to fight a growing identity theft problem in California because many of the cyber criminals who victimize people here operate outside the United States, the state’s top-ranking FBI official says.

FBI Assistant Director Ronald Iden, head of the bureau’s Los Angeles division, spoke in the aftermath of a New York identity theft case described as the largest in U.S. history. He agreed with state officials that identity theft is the fastest-growing crime problem in California.

On Nov. 25, federal officials in New York charged three men with swindling 30,000 victims across the country out of at least $2.7 million. Cases of a similar magnitude are most likely unfolding now in California and elsewhere, and the public should expect more of them, Iden said.

The state Department of Justice helps fund five cyber crime task forces throughout the state, and their investigators all report that they are overwhelmed with identity theft cases. The Secret Service recently established two similar groups in California focusing partly on protecting financial infrastructures.

While state and federal law enforcement agencies investigate identity theft, Iden said the FBI’s focus is concentrated on groups or what he calls “criminal enterprises.” Iden said he doesn’t use the term organized crime because the people involved often are disorganized.

“Somebody in Latvia might be using stolen identities to order shipments of computers, for example,” he said. “Or criminal groups anywhere outside this country can now loot bank and credit accounts here.”

At the same time, businesses and the public must be more alert to computer identity theft crimes, Iden said. One recent FBI survey showed that 90% of businesses contacted had discovered intrusions in their computer systems. But only a third of those had reported them to law enforcement agencies.

“At every level, law enforcement needs reports faster,” he said. “People should be watching for even small discrepancies in their bank and credit card statements. Cyber thieves can hit hundreds or thousands of people for small amounts.”

Identity thieves typically use such financial and personal information as Social Security numbers, birth dates and bank and credit account numbers. They can print phony checks on home computers, make fraudulent credit card purchases and wreck a victim’s credit rating for years.

California Deputy Atty. Gen. Robert Morgester said many identity thieves begin by stealing mail, literally following mail trucks around. “It’s so easy, it’s amazing,” he said.