THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’S EFFORTS TO COMBAT IDENTITY THEFT (or NOT!)

The Office of the Inspector General conducted an audit on DOJ's efforts to combat identity theft.   The report was released in March of this year. Not a glowing report by any means.


From the report:

Results in Brief
Overall we found that DOJ components responsible for combating identity theft have undertaken various efforts to fight this widespread crime. Several of the initiatives were in response to recommendations made by the President’s Task Force, while others were undertaken by the components before the Task Force was established. Although some of these efforts have had success, in other instances the components did not address the recommendations of the President’s Task Force. We also found that to some degree identity theft initiatives have faded as priorities.

In addition, we found that DOJ has not developed a coordinated plan to combat identity theft separate from the recommendations of the President’s Task Force. Representatives from every DOJ component involved in this review told us that they have not received guidance from DOJ’s leadership since the Task Force concluded its work. Further, DOJ did not assign any person or office with the responsibility to coordinate DOJ’s efforts to combat identity theft and to ensure that DOJ components further implement the recommendations of the President’s Task Force where appropriate. We believe the DOJ needs to ensure that its efforts to combat identity theft are coordinated and are given sufficient priority.

In our report, we make 14 recommendations to improve DOJ’s efforts to combat identity theft. The remaining sections of this Executive Summary provide a further description of our audit findings....

...Executive Office for United States Attorneys and United States Attorneys’ Offices
According to the President’s Task Force, one of the shortcomings in the federal government’s ability to understand and respond effectively to identity theft was the lack of comprehensive statistical data on law enforcement’s efforts to combat it....

Number of Defendants Charged and Convicted Pursuant to the Federal Identity Theft and Aggravated Identity Theft Statutes in 2009
Charged - 769
Convicted - 432

Attorney Work Years Charged to Federal Identity Theft and Aggravated Identity Theft Prosecutions
45.62 work years
(According to EOUSA, the term “work year” is used when defining the productive efforts of one individual for one year. One work year for a federal employee is typically equal to 2080 hours)

To read or download the whole 65 page audit click here!

To learn more about Identity Theft and what to do if you are a victim, visit www.StopIdTheftCrime.com and subscribe to the newsletter to obtain your free 46 page eBook "Fighting Back Against Identity Theft". Remember, estimates are that every 2-4 seconds an Identity is compromised. Why take chances? Why not protect yourself and your loved ones with the best suite of services provided (including restoration). Educate yourself and call me at (909) 208-3728 or send a blank email for more info to joerecommends (at)aweber.com! Shameless plug the Best Identity Theft Protection available dot com

Cybercrime against Businesses Totals $867 million in 2005 (that's only of the respondents to this DOJ survey report)

Cybercrime against Businesses, 2005
By Ramona R. Rantala
BJS Statistician

Among 7,818 businesses that responded to the National Computer Security Survey, 67% detected at least onecybercrime in 2005 (table 1). Nearly 60% detected one or more types of cyber attack, 11% detected cyber theft, and 24% of the businesses detected other computer security incidents. Respondents, representing 36 economic industries, said they detected more than 22 million incidents ofcybercrime in 2005. The vast majority of cybercrimes (20 million incidents) were other computer security incidents,primarily spyware, adware, phishing, and spoofing. There were nearly 1.5 million computer virus infections and 126,000 cyber fraud incidents.

The effects of these crimes were measured in terms of monetary loss and system downtime. Ninety-one percent of the businesses providing information sustained one or both types of loss. The monetary loss for these businesses totaled $867 million in 2005. Cyber theft accounted for more than half of the loss ($450 million). Cyber attacks cost businesses $314 million. System downtime caused by cyber attacks and other computer security incidents totaled 323,900 hours. Computer viruses accounted for 193,000 hours and other computer security incidents resulted in more than 100,000 hours of system downtime.

...Computer virus infections were the most prevalent cybercrime among businesses in 2005
...86% of victimized businesses detected multiple incidents
...91% of businesses detecting cybercrime incurred losses
...Cybercrime resulted in monetary loss of $867 million among businesses responding to the survey

If this figure is from almost 8,000 respondents in the survey, can you imagine what the total is for all businesses which is over 7 million? I think I see a bailout plan option for the Feds.

...Insiders were involved in cyber theft for 74% of businesses in 2005
...Most businesses did not report cyber attacks to law enforcement authorities

The majority of businesses reported embezzlement (72%), fraud (63%), and theft of personal or financial data (60%). Few businesses reported theft of intellectual property (27%), any type of cyber attack (6%), or other computer security incidents (12%) to law enforcement officials.

Few businesses (3%) indicated that their decision not to report an incident to law enforcement was based on the possibility of negative publicity or decreased confidence in the business.

...Three-fifths of the businesses detecting cyber attacks reported that the Internet was involved
...Insufficient anti-virus software was the most prevalent vulnerability
...Businesses that outsourced all or part of their computer security had a greater prevalence of incidents (Read the whole report by clicking here)

Still think your information is safe? Who's in your wallet?

To learn more about Identity Theft and what to do if you are a victim, visit www.StopIdTheftCrime.com and subscribe to the newsletter to obtain your free 46 page eBook "Fighting Back Against Identity Theft".

Remember, estimates are that every 2-4 seconds an Identity is compromised. Why take chances? Why not protect yourself and your loved ones with the best suite of services provided (including restoration) by the best NYSE company in the field? Educate yourself and visit the shameless plug below or call me at (909) 208-3728!

Shameless plug
the Best Identity Theft Protection available dot com