<P> Under English law (which extends to Wales but not to Northern Ireland or Scotland), the deception offences under the Theft Act 1968 increasingly contend with identity theft situations . In R v Seward (2005) EWCA Crim 1941 the defendant was acting as the "front man" in the use of stolen credit cards and other documents to obtain goods . He obtained goods to the value of £ 10,000 for others who are unlikely ever to be identified . The Court of Appeal considered sentencing policy for deception offenses involving "identity theft" and concluded that a prison sentence was required . Henriques J. said at para 14: "Identity fraud is a particularly pernicious and prevalent form of dishonesty calling for, in our judgment, deterrent sentences ." </P> <P> Statistics released by CIFAS - The UK's Fraud Prevention Service show that there were 89,000 victims of identity theft in the UK 2010 . This compared with 2009 where there were 85,000 victims . Men in their 30s and 40s are the most common UK victims and identity fraud now accounts for nearly half of all frauds recorded . </P> <P> The increase in crimes of identity theft led to the drafting of the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act . In 1998, The Federal Trade Commission appeared before the United States Senate . The FTC discussed crimes which exploit consumer credit to commit loan fraud, mortgage fraud, lines - of - credit fraud, credit card fraud, commodities and services frauds . The Identity Theft Deterrence Act (2003) (ITADA) amended U.S. Code Title 18, § 1028 ("Fraud related to activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information"). The statute now makes the possession of any "means of identification" to "knowingly transfer, possess, or use without lawful authority" a federal crime, alongside unlawful possession of identification documents . However, for federal jurisdiction to prosecute, the crime must include an "identification document" that either: (a) is purportedly issued by the United States, (b) is used or intended to defraud the United States, (c) is sent through the mail, or (d) is used in a manner that affects interstate or foreign commerce . See 18 U.S.C. § 1028 (c). Punishment can be up to 5, 15, 20, or 30 years in federal prison, plus fines, depending on the underlying crime per 18 U.S.C. § 1028 (b). In addition, punishments for the unlawful use of a "means of identification" were strengthened in § 1028A ("Aggravated Identity Theft"), allowing for a consecutive sentence under specific enumerated felony violations as defined in § 1028A (c) (1) through (11). </P> <P> The Act also provides the Federal Trade Commission with authority to track the number of incidents and the dollar value of losses . Their figures relate mainly to consumer financial crimes and not the broader range of all identification - based crimes . </P>

When did identity theft become a federal crime