In recent years, the problem of so-called identity theft has become increasingly acute. Identity theft occurs when those who improperly obtain access to other persons' Social Security number and identifying information such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and the like use that information to commit financial fraud by making purchases or obtaining credit in the name of those other persons. A recent FTC estimate indicates that approximately 10 million persons per year may be victims of identity theft in at least one instance and sometimes an ongoing series of instances. Hundreds of thousands of persons have made formal complaints to the FTC regarding identity theft, which is behavior that falls under the FTC's regulatory authority to address deceptive or unfair practices in commercial settings.

Congress, federal agencies, and some state legislatures have attempted to deal with the identity theft problem through statutes and regulations. In late 2003, Congress enacted the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (usually called the FACT Act) as a series of amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FACT Act aids victims of identity theft by allowing them to file identity theft reports with consumer reporting agencies and by

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requiring such agencies to include "fraud alerts" in their credit reports about consumers who believe they have been victimized by someone else's fraudulent use of their financial information. The FACT Act also required the FTC and various other government agencies to promulgate regulations setting standards for appropriate disposal of financial information about consumers by companies that possess such information. "Disposal," for purposes of the standards, would include not only discarding the information but also selling the information. This FACT Act requirement was designed to minimize the chances that consumers' financial information would fall into the hands of, or be purchased by, would-be identity thieves.

Recent years also witnessed a number of high-profile instances in which security breaches and other apparent lapses at prominent firms resulted in widespread disclosure of the private financial information of huge numbers of consumers. The publicity given to such breaches and lapses and the identity theft dangers they suggested have led to calls for further legislative action. With the identity theft concern seeming to intensify, additional statutory and regulatory efforts to deal with the problem seem likely.

Describe the ways that the provisions of the FACT ACT combat the problem of identity theft. Do you think that the FACT ACT goes far enough? Explain why or why not.