"Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes today," Grassley said. "What's worse, many times people are stealing the identities of others and using those identities to commit additional crimes ranging from bank and credit card fraud to international terrorism. Our bill cracks down on this alarming trend by creating stiffer penalties for these criminals."
The Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act significantly enhances the penalties for perpetrators of identity theft by creating a new classification of aggravated identity theft. The charge would be determined by the nature and seriousness of the subsequent crimes committed through the use of a stolen identity. Under the bill, individuals convicted of aggravated identity theft would receive an additional two years of prison time to their sentence for the underlying offense. The bill also increases the maximum penalty for a basic case of identity theft from three to five years.
"Unfortunately, knowing someone whose identity has been stolen is all too common," Grassley said. "These crimes are an egregious invasion of privacy and destroy the credit of hard-working Americans."
The Justice Department estimates that 500,000 to 700,000 Americans are victims of identity theft each year.
Grassley has long been a leader in Congress in the fight against identity theft. He is currently co-sponsoring legislation that would make it harder for criminals to steal someone's identity by imposing additional duties on credit issuers and credit bureaus to ensure the accuracy of information in credit applications. He is also a co-sponsor of legislation to help the victims of identity theft recover from the crime and assist law enforcement personnel in catching the criminals.