Introduction and Letter from the Chairman

You have been placed upon a special committee sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission. The purpose of the committee is to report back to the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about the current status of identity theft in the United States.

Before you even meet for your first meeting there is a note from the Chairman of the FTC preparing you for your first meeting. Please read the following letter and complete the Chairman's requests before moving on to the next stage of this WebQuest.


Dear Committee Member,

Identity theft is on the rise in our country. Between January and December 2003, the Federal Trade Commission received over 214,900 identity theft complaints. These complaints accounted for 42% of all complaints registered at the FTC, and this increase is up 2% from the identity theft complaints in the year 2002. In fact, identity theft has been increasing every year for the past decade; therefore, I have decided that the FTC needs to make identity theft a top priority.

Please visit the Identity Theft Resource Center web site as well as the FTC identity theft web site in order to research this current national problem. Before the first meeting, make sure you have a clear understanding of the definition of idenity theft, including the primary ways it is being conducted, the impacts it has on a victim, and the ways we can assist the public to combat it. I want us to address this issue from all angles including social, commercial, political and law enforcement perspectives.

Sincerely,

The FTC Chairman