The Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC) reported today it is expanding its partnership with law enforcement and that landmark agreements signed with federal law enforcement agencies over the past two years are resulting in the arrest and prosecution of identity theft criminals.

"To fight identity theft, law enforcement, business and consumers must work together," said ITAC Executive Director Anne Wallace. "The information that ITAC collects when helping victims of identity theft is helping law enforcement find and punish the perpetrators. Our law enforcement partners tell us that ITAC data gives investigators a 360 degree perspective on these crimes, increasing the likelihood of arrests and the speed at which arrests are made."

Since the ITAC victim assistance center opened two years ago, ITAC has signed data sharing agreements with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Trade Commission through its Consumer Sentinel database, which is used by more than 1000 law enforcement agencies around the country.

"Over the past year, we've loaded information about 9,000 ITAC cases into our Financial Crime Database, which is used by postal inspectors all over the country," said Lee Heath, Chief Postal Inspector for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. "ITAC data has helped us locate, and in some cases arrest, suspects in more than a dozen cases."

ITAC data was used by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in the following cases:

* Somerville, NJ. This case involved two ITAC complaints. Check and

credit cards were stolen from a plumbing business by an ex-employee.

The suspect opened a post office box in the business' name to receive

fraudulent credit cards and convenience checks. The credit cards and

checks were used to defraud businesses of over $250,000. The suspect

has been arrested.

* Harlingen, TX. This case involved two ITAC complaints. The suspect

was arrested for being in possession of stolen credit cards. In one

case, the suspect purchased a $12,000 Ford Mustang using a convenience

check from one of the fraudulent credit card accounts. The suspect was

indicted on federal charges related to Social Security fraud and

aggravated identity theft.

* Baltimore, MD. This case involved one ITAC complaint. The suspect was

identified and search, seizure and arrest warrants were obtained by law

enforcement. Numerous pieces of mail were found at her residence,

including credit applications and bills, in the names of two Baltimore

women. A trial date is set for October.

ITAC is expanding its law enforcement partnership to the state and regional level. ITAC recently signed a data sharing agreement with the Regional Identity Theft Network which is led by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Patrick Meehan. The network includes federal agencies (U. S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, State Department), as well as the Pennsylvania Attorney General and District Attorneys in Philadelphia County and surrounding counties. Data on all stolen or criminally used identity information will be accessible to all participants.

About ITAC

The Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC) (http://www.identitytheftassistance.org) is a cooperative initiative founded by the financial services industry that now welcomes companies in other industries targeted by identity thieves. Since it was established in August 2004, ITAC has helped thousands of consumers restore their financial identities. Part of the ongoing industry focus on combating fraud and identity theft, ITAC is run by the Identity Theft Assistance Corporation, a not-for-profit membership corporation sponsored by The Financial Services Roundtable and BITS.

Source: prnewswire