Identity Theft Focus of National
Consumer Protection
Partnership of Agencies Promotes
Education and Awareness
The Federal Trade Commission has launched
the seventh annual National Consumer Protection Week
(NCPW), in cooperation with federal, state and local
agencies, and national advocacy organizations committed
to consumer protection and education. This year's
theme, Identity Theft: When Fact Becomes Fiction,
focuses on minimizing the risk of identity theft and
taking fast action if an identity thief strikes. Identity
theft affects approximately 10 million Americans each
year. During the week, agencies participating in NCPW
will work together to help consumers and businesses
prevent identity theft and help victims restore their
good names.
The NCPW Web site, consumer.gov/ncpw,
contains helpful information for consumers and businesses
on a variety of topics, including phishing scams,
telecommunications fraud, Internet fraud, and the
theft of printed documents with personal information,
as well as protecting employees from identity theft
in the workplace. The site also contains valuable
consumer information on the steps to take if you become
a victim.
We're committed to working with our
partners to give consumers the information they need
to fight identity theft and other consumer fraud,
said Lydia Parnes, Acting Director of the FTC's Bureau
of Consumer Protection. National Consumer Protection
Week is a great opportunity for organizations across
the country to teach consumers about their rights.
Organizations interested in promoting NCPW can click
on the Outreach Toolkit, which contains downloadable
materials a poster, flyer, sample press materials,
public service announcements, Web-ready logos, banner
ads, and buttons.
Identity thieves open new accounts
in other peoples' names and rack up debts on existing
accounts, using consumers' Social Security numbers,
bank account information, addresses, or phone numbers.
Identity theft victims may spend years and large sums
of money restoring their credit histories and their
good names. Some consumers have been denied jobs or
insurance or been arrested for crimes they did not
commit. A recent survey indicates that the dollar
volume of the crime was $52.6 billion and much of
that cost is accrued by businesses.
NCPW is sponsored by the FTC, the Federal
Citizen Information Center, the Federal Communications
Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,
the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of
Crime, the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection
Service, the National Association of Consumer Agency
Administrators, the National Consumers League, AARP,
the Better Business Bureau, Call for Action, the Consumer
Federation of America, the National Association of
Attorneys General, National Association of Consumer
Affairs Administrators, the California Office of Privacy
Protection, the Ohio Attorney General's Office, the
Identity Theft Resource Center, and the Privacy Rights
Clearinghouse.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent
fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices
in the marketplace and to provide information to help
consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint,
or to get free information on any of 150 consumer
topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1 877-382-4357),
or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov.
The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft,
and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel,
a secure, online database available to hundreds of
civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the
U.S. and abroad.
