Identity Theft Project
To address the burgeoning problem of identity theft in the Western District of Tennessee and the country at large, the United States Attorney's Office determined that in addition to continuing to prosecute identity theft cases it would create a partnership with other federal law enforcement agencies in order to better coordinate investigations and to create greater awareness of the problem among business owners and the public. The Identify Theft Working Group was initially composed of representatives of the United States Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secret Service, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. The Treasury Department Inspector General for Tax Administration joined the task force shortly after its formation.
Initial meetings of the Working Group concentrated on better coordination of investigations between members of the Working Group. However, the Working group soon realized that state and local law enforcement had a stake in the investigation and prosecution of identity theft cases. As a result the Working Group invited state and local law enforcement agencies from across the Western District of Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas to meet for the purpose of exchanging information about current investigations in order to develop better coordination of investigative resources. This expanded working group will continue to meet periodically to discuss new cases and to facilitate the coordination of future investigations.
The Identity Theft Working Group also determined that it would be appropriate to take some action to inform the business community and the public about the problem of identity theft, the current efforts of law enforcement, and how all three can work together to prevent identify theft and insure that identity theft criminals are apprehended and fully prosecuted. Toward that end the Working Group developed a one day seminar for members of the business community and the law enforcement community. More than 150 participants attended the seminar on April 30, 2001, to hear about the various schemes which have been uncovered in the area and how businesses can help protect themselves and their customers from identity theft. In addition the seminar provided business leaders an opportunity to meet law enforcement personnel working on identity theft cases. Information on future seminars and other efforts to prevent and combat identity theft will be posted.
RESOURCES:
- Identity
Theft
A brochure in PDF format from the U.S. Postal Service about the dangers of the Identity Theft - Identity
Theft
A PDF document by former student intern Tom Rivers about Identity Theft