Legal Consequences of Identity Theft

This post is about the penalties -- specifically jail time -- for committing identity theft. What are the consequences for committing identity theft?

The short answer: Not strict enough to deter hardcore criminals from stealing your personal information.

The charge is "aggravated identity theft." The maximum penalty for committing it is 15 years in prison if the damages were over $1,000 in a one-year period. For lesser amounts, the penalty can be a slap on the wrist. Even for larger amounts, the perpetrator might receive probation if their record is otherwise clean.

Really, the way the laws are written now, it is a charge to be tacked on when child molesters, violent criminals, and big-time fraudsters commit "worse" crimes. With budgets being what they are, the average identity thief has to work pretty hard at getting thrown in jail for any length of time. As many ID thieves are new to the crime world, driven by desperation, they often get off with probation.

This explains, in part, the reason for the incredible popularity of this crime among the undesirables of our society. The other part is that they are so often not caught.

My personal opinion is that the penalties should be severe. If you educate yourself about this issue, you will know that the damage done by identity theft is enormous. Surf around this blog and you'll see.

Please, I beg you, protect yourself!