Identity Theft Education

Identity Fraud is the fastest growing crime in the United States. In September of 2003, the Federal Trade Commission reported that 27.3 million Americans have been victims of identity fraud in the last five years, including 9.91 million people or 4.6% of the population in the last year alone. Identity Fraud is the criminal misappropriation of another person's identity.

A pervasive type of identity fraud is identity theft, which involves “stealing” another person’s personal identifying information. All thieves need to perpetrate this crime is a name, social security number (SSN), and a birth date

If a known felon is employed and later engages in identity fraud involving your customers or employees, the company can face liability including negligent hiring claims. In addition, companies are liable for negligently retaining an employee. For example, even if an employer performed a thorough background check and exercised appropriate care--if the employee acts improperly during the term of contract, then the company may be deemed negligent simply by retaining the employee.