Identity theft is a serious botheration which, if not taken care of at the initial stages, may pose to be very damaging. In the past, significant identity thefts have taken place which led to the declaration of the “Identity Theft Assumptions Deterrence Act”, in 1998. This Act is the strongest protection against identity thefts. The act also declared identity theft as a criminal offence and allows victims of identity theft to seek compensation for "identifiable losses" and expenses related to clearing their name and credit history.

How does the "The Identity Theft and Associations Deterrence Act" work?

• It makes identity theft across state lines a criminal offence with punishments ranging from fine to imprisonment up to 15 years.
• Allows compensation to the victim
• Increase tenure of imprisonment, depending on the intensity of crime
• Requires the U.S. Secret Service to keep statistics on the identity theft cases handled by them

You can contact the Federal Trade Commission's complaint center by calling (202) FTC-HELP or sending an email from their website at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm if you have been a victim of identity theft. Alternatively, you can write to: Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, CRC-240, Washington, D.C. 20580.

Identity protection starts with awareness. In other words, unless you are aware of what you need to do to protect your identity, no one can save you from your identity being stolen or misused. Following are some steps that you may follow to protect your identity:

• Monitor your credit report regularly. Obtain your Social Security Earnings and Benefits statement once a-year to ensure that no one is using your social security number for employment. Call Social Security Administration at (800) 772-1203.
• Monitor your credit card bills, statements, telephone and utility bills and cancelled checks for unauthorized use.
• Do not carry all your cards around unnecessarily. Carry only what you need and leave your social security card and extra credit cards in a safe place.
• Choose proper passwords for online transactions and change it frequently.
• Don’t distribute your Social Security number unless mandatory.
• Destroy documents that have any personal information or credit account numbers before discarding.