The Government Struggle to Combat Identity Theft Essay -- Exploratory

I. IntroductionOver the last few decades, the world has witnessed a global revolution, unleashed by technological innovations and catalyzed by market forces. Yet even out as technology has made the world more efficient, it has also made the world vulnerable to threats posed by malicious actors. These actors have perpetrated innumerable crimes and the governing body struggles to combat these modern criminals. One threat stands out as particularly frightening individualism theft. The ability of a criminal to completely co-opt the identity of a nonher person strikes at the very core of individuality. No longer can the victim be assured that his place in the world is odd and unique, dependent on his actions alone rather, he is subject to sudden and dramatic changes, all at the behest of an actor who he in all likelihood does not even know. Noting the progressing trends of identify theft crimes in the last few years, Congress has begun to combat ID theft, hoping to drive it to extinction. Yet the progress so far is discouraging. Modern statutes languish the weakness of inadequacy, often relying upon traditional methods to engage a new and fundamentally different form of crime. The same problem afflicts most of the legislative proposals currently beneath Congressional consideration. And to make matters even worse, the few proposed bills that might be effective face a likely death at the hands of a republican dominated Congress. Ultimately, Congress lacks the innovation and understanding to combat identity theft, leading to incoherent policies that do little to curb this new epidemic.II. A Short recordBefore identify theft laws were passed, Congress could only rely on fraud statutes to prosecute identity thieves. Before ... .... 7.15 Identity Theft mental imagery Center. Foley, Linda. Refocusing the Fight Against Identity Theft. 2003. Found at http//www.idtheftcenter.org/refocusing.shtml16 United States. Internet False Identification Act of 2000 .17 Frelinghuysen, Representative Rodney. Proposed Bill. Online Privacy resistance Act. 2003.18 Dianne Feinstein, Senator Dianne. Proposed Bill. Identity Theft Prevention Act. 2003. Found at http//thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108S.22319 Kotadia, Munir. Whois Database Contributes to Identity Theft. ZDNet UK, 6 November 2003. Found at http//news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/ auspices/0,39020375,39117667,00.htm20 Barnes, Cecily. Internet Contributes to Rise of Identity Theft, FTC Says. CNET News.com, 30 August 2000. Found at http//news.com.com/2100-1023-245173.html?legacy=cnet21 Frelinghuysen. Online Privacy Protection Act.22 Ibid.