Fraud and Identity Theft: The United Nations Crime Commission Intergovernmental Expert Group on Fraud and the Criminal Misuse and Falsification of Identity

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Fraud and Identity Theft The United Nations
Crime Commission Intergovernmental Expert Group
on Fraud and the Criminal Misuse and
Falsification of Identity

• Jonathan J. Rusch
• Special Counsel for Fraud Prevention
• Criminal Division, Fraud Section
• U.S. Department of Justice
• Washington, DC
• CACR 7th Annual Privacy and Security Workshop
• Toronto, Ontario
• November 2, 2006

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Origins of the Expert Group

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General Trends in Fraud and Identity Theft

• Fraud
• Significant contributor to costs of crime
• Australian Institute of Criminology (2003)
  Estimated cost of fraud to Australia is more than
  AU 5 billion a year more than 25 percent of
  total cost of all crime (AU 19 billion)
• Continuing growth in transnational fraud
  affecting North America and other regions
• Internet fraud (online auctions, investments),
  telemarketing fraud
• Examples
• 1998-present Canadian-based task forces
• Operation Roaming Charge (October 2004)
• 100 separate investigations of domestic and
  international telemarketing fraud
• More than 5 million victims, with losses of more
  than 1 billion
• Operation Global Con (May 2006)
• 96 separate U.S. investigations of international
  mass-marketing fraud
• More than 2.8 million victims, with losses of
  more than 1 billion

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General Trends in Fraud and Identity Theft

• Identity Theft United States
• Indications of substantial growth
• Better Business Bureau Javelin Research Survey
  (2006)
• 8.9 million adult U.S. victims in preceding year
• 56.6 billion cost of identity fraud in preceding
  year
• 6,383 mean cost per identity fraud victim
• FTC Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, Identity
  Theft Complaints (Largest Single Category of
  Consumer Fraud Complaints with FTC)
• 2003 215,177
• 2004 246,847
• 2005 255,565

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General Trends in Fraud and Identity Theft

• Identity Theft United Kingdom
• Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee
  Identity fraud costs U.K. economy 1.72 billion
• Phishing schemes known to have affected most of
  U.K. High Street banks
• Identity Theft Australia
• 2006 survey 8 percent of participants said they
  had been victims of identity theft

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U.N. Crime Commission Involvement

• UNESCO Resolution 2004/26 (July 21, 2004)
• Requested UN Secretary General to convene an
  intergovernmental expert group for the purpose of
  preparing a study on fraud and the criminal
  misuse and falsification of identity to deal with
  five principal areas
• Nature and extent of fraud and criminal misuse
  and falsification of identity
• Domestic and international trends in fraud and
  criminal misuse and falsification of identity
• Relationship between fraud, other forms of
  economic crimes, criminal misuse and
  falsification of identity and other illicit
  activities, including organized crime,
  money-laundering, and terrorism
• Prevention and control of fraud and criminal
  misuse and falsification of identity using
  commercial and criminal law, criminal justice and
  other means, and how these can be harmonized
• Particular problems posed by fraud and criminal
  misuse and falsification of identity for
  developing countries and countries with economies
  in transition.

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U.N. Crime Commission Involvement

• Also requested Expert Group to use the
  information gained by the study for the purpose
  of developing useful practices, guidelines or
  other materials in the prevention, investigation
  and prosecution of fraud and the criminal misuse
  and falsification of identity

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Expert Group Tasks

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Principal Tasks

• Initial Meeting, March 17-18, 2005
• Discussion of scope of work
• Discussion of questionnaire to be distributed by
  UN Office on Drugs and Crime
• Questionnaire, September 2005
• Original submission deadline of January 10, 2006
  extended
• Report on Results of Study
• Basis Questionnaire responses and other
  information submitted by experts, Member State
  Governments, and (where relevant and feasible)
  private-sector sources
• Factual information on fraud and criminal misuse
  and falsification of identity, plus information
  on best practices
• To be submitted to UN Crime Commission by 2007
  annual meeting (spring 2007)

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UNODC Questionnaire Basic Approach

• 50 Short, Easy-to-Answer Questions
• Examples
• Question 1 Please provide short descriptions or
  information on
• Your countrys commercial law framework,
  including contract, consumer protection, and tort
  laws
• Extent to which information and communications
  technologies are available in urban and rural
  areas, and the extent to which they are used for
  commercial activities
• Question 5 Please indicate the types of fraud
  most commonly encountered in your country and
  their typical characteristics

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UNODC Questionnaire - Fraud

• Question 18 In your opinion, how could public
  and private commercial entities collaborate most
  effectively in the prevention and control of such
  offences?
• Question 29 Please provide information about
  lessons learnt or useful practices developed to
  combat or prevent fraud or other related offences
  at the national level or in the field of
  international cooperation where foreign or
  transnational aspects of fraud are involved.
• Footnote Best practices should include
  legislative action, operational or investigative
  techniques and preventive policies, and encompass
  both the private commercial and public criminal
  law areas.
• USDEL Interpretation Best/useful practices
  include commercial policies, practices,
  technologies, and relationships

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UNODC Questionnaire Identity Fraud

• Question 45 How, in your opinion, could the
  public and commercial sectors most effectively
  deter, prevent and control identity fraud, and in
  what areas could they collaborate most
  effectively with one another?
• Question 50 Please provide information about
  lessons learnt or useful practices developed to
  combat or prevent identity abuses at the national
  level or in the field of international
  cooperation where foreign or transnational
  aspects of identity fraud are in issue.

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U. S. Approach to Questionnaire

• Points of Contact
• Law Enforcement Agencies
• Solicited studies, reports
• Private Sector Entities
• Contacts with financial services and information
  technology associations and organizations to
  publicize Expert Group survey and solicit
  information
• Outreach to specific financial services companies
  to solicit information

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Highlights of U.S. Response to Questionnaire

• Available at http//www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/U
  NODCQuestionnaireUSGResponseFinal.pdf
• Responses to Questions 5, 18, 29, 45, 50

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Next Steps

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Timetable

• Expert Group Report
• Now being drafted
• Expert Group Meeting
• Possibly January 2007
• Focus on report and recommendations
• U.N. Crime Commission
• 16th Session Spring 2007

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Contact Data

• Email Jonathan.Rusch2_at_usdoj.gov
• Office 202-514-0631
• Fax [phone]
• Mail 10th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.,
  Bond Building, Room 4300, Washington, DC 20530