Troubleshooting

Obstacle	Solutions, Tips, Help
Banks and credit companies won’t release the financial information and records needed for the investigation to anyone but the victim.	FCRA Section 609(e) states that it is the victim’s right to get copies of applications and business records that relate to the victim’s identity theft without a subpoena from any company that transacted any business with the thief who was using the victim’s identity. The victim can also require the company to provide a copy of all of the records to a law enforcement officer. All copies must be provided at no charge to the consumer or the officer. ANY request, if it contains the enclosures required by law (including a law enforcement report), triggers the Section 609(e) requirement on the company.
We have no dedicated investigators and/or specialized units to help with these crimes.	Consider the VIPS solution – using citizen volunteers including retired law enforcement and bank security officials. For example, the city of Pasadena (CA) C.R.E.D.I.T. program expanded the department’s resources to deal with these crimes and provides much needed support to both victims and investigators. http://www.cityofpasadena.net/police/media/MediaReleases/2004/2004%20-%20C.R.E.D.I.T.%20Program%208-3.pdf. Work closely with affected financial institutions; bring their investigators in as partners that will expand your resources and improve your access to key information. Contact the National White Collar Crime Center [NW3C] http://www.nw3c.org/isupport/overview.cfm that provides support services for member agencies who are involved in the investigation or prosecution of a white collar, high tech or cyber crime. Services include analytical support, public database searches and case funding. Analysts can assist in establishing financial transaction patterns, developing links between criminal targets and associated criminal activity and providing link charts, timelines and graphs for court presentations. In cases of skimming and other high tech crimes, partner with your local IT companies as an additional resource.
These crimes take too much time to investigate.	Visit www.gethuman.com to get quickly to an agent (instead of a voice mail menu). This should save some time and assist smaller departments to get more quickly to the people within financial institutions who can help. The U.S. Secret Service E-Information Network http://www.secretservice.gov/le_resources.shtml has contacts to many of the fraud investigators at financial institutions.
The department does not collect information on these crimes; makes it hard to track progress.	As of now, the UCR coding for identity crimes is fraud. Departments seeking to report identity crime through UCR forms can attach information as comments, within the “open section,” on the crime report form.

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Troubleshooting

Obstacle

Solutions, Tips, Help

Banks and credit companies won’t release the financial information and records needed for the investigation to anyone but the victim.

FCRA Section 609(e) states that it is the victim’s right to get copies of applications and business records that relate to the victim’s identity theft without a subpoena from any company that transacted any business with the thief who was using the victim’s identity. The victim can also require the company to provide a copy of all of the records to a law enforcement officer. All copies must be provided at no charge to the consumer or the officer. ANY request, if it contains the enclosures required by law (including a law enforcement report), triggers the Section 609(e) requirement on the company.

We have no dedicated investigators and/or specialized units to help with these crimes.

Consider the VIPS solution – using citizen volunteers including retired law enforcement and bank security officials. For example, the city of Pasadena (CA) C.R.E.D.I.T. program expanded the department’s resources to deal with these crimes and provides much needed support to both victims and investigators. http://www.cityofpasadena.net/police/media/MediaReleases/2004/2004%20-%20C.R.E.D.I.T.%20Program%208-3.pdf.
Work closely with affected financial institutions; bring their investigators in as partners that will expand your resources and improve your access to key information.
Contact the National White Collar Crime Center [NW3C] http://www.nw3c.org/isupport/overview.cfm that provides support services for member agencies who are involved in the investigation or prosecution of a white collar, high tech or cyber crime. Services include analytical support, public database searches and case funding. Analysts can assist in establishing financial transaction patterns, developing links between criminal targets and associated criminal activity and providing link charts, timelines and graphs for court presentations.
In cases of skimming and other high tech crimes, partner with your local IT companies as an additional resource.

These crimes take too much time to investigate.

Visit www.gethuman.com to get quickly to an agent (instead of a voice mail menu). This should save some time and assist smaller departments to get more quickly to the people within financial institutions who can help.

The U.S. Secret Service E-Information Network http://www.secretservice.gov/le_resources.shtml has contacts to many of the fraud investigators at financial institutions.

The department does not collect information on these crimes; makes it hard to track progress.

As of now, the UCR coding for identity crimes is fraud. Departments seeking to report identity crime through UCR forms can attach information as comments, within the “open section,” on the crime report form.