President's Identity Theft Task Force Issues Report

Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Federal Trade Commission Chairman William Kovacic announced the release of a report from the President's Identity Theft Task Force on progress the federal government has made in addressing identity theft since the Task Force's Strategic Plan was released last year. Highlights include expansion of the Task Force's data security and identity theft business and consumer education campaigns; exploring means of improving consumer authentication processes to prevent the use of stolen information to commit identity theft; launching new initiatives to help identity theft victims recover; and improving law enforcement tools to investigate and prosecute identity thieves. The Strategic Plan, issued in April 2007, outlined 31 recommendations the federal government should undertake to help prevent the theft and misuse of consumers' personal information, help consumers detect and recover from identity theft, and increase the prosecution and punishment of identity thieves.