The identity theft has been increasingly rapid during the past decades. This is a growing crime and the penalties are growing in proportion with increased jail times—in addition to the sentence passed for the crimes supported by the actual identity theft itself.
Identity theft can be organized and linked to international crime such as terrorism, pornography, drug and human trafficking. Identity theft can be local, involving friends, family and neighbors. This crime can be difficult to track and crosses jurisdictional boundaries, making it hard to prosecute.
The first identity theft law, the Identity Theft Assumption and Deterrence Act, was passed by Congress in 1998. This law allows a penalty of up to 15 years of prison time.
We often think of criminal identity theft as a single crime committed against a single individual. For ex: A man was accused of using networks compromised ‘zombie' computers to send out millions of spam e-mails. A federal grand jury returned a 35-count indictment for multiple identity theft crimes, including mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering. This is the first case in the country in which federal prosecutors used identity theft statutes to prosecute a spammer for hijacking someone else's domain name.
Considerations for Identity theft- ATM or shared computer
- Cyber crime
- Phishing scams
- Skimming
Punishments
- Passport and visa fraud are federal felonies and each is subject to identity theft punishment laws that impose a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
- Immigration violations, false citizenship crimes, firearms offenses, Social Security fraud, government theft, and other serious crimes includes 2 years in prison
- Terrorism crime includes 5 years
- The maximum penalty will be given for federal crimes
- National and international terrorism includes of 25 years maximum.
People have not only lost their credit ratings, money, and reputations due to identity theft, spent years trying to straighten out their lives, have been refused loans, educational opportunities, job offers, and have even been arrested for crimes they did not commit.
Your time is precious hence contact Neal Davis' Houston criminal lawyer now for a free initial consultation. Email him or call him at 713-227-4444 any time. He is one of the best Houston criminal defense attorney in Texas.
