Criminal identity theft occurs when an imposter gives another person's name and personal information such as a drivers' license, date of birth, or Social Security number (SSN) to a law enforcement officer during an investigation or upon arrest. Or the imposter may present to law enforcement a counterfeit license containing another person's data.
Frequently, but not always, the imposter fraudulently obtained a driver's license or identification card in the victim's name and provides that identification document to law enforcement. Or the imposter, without showing any photo identification, uses the name of a friend or relative. In many cases, the imposter is cited for a traffic violation or for a misdemeanor violation and is released from the arrest. The imposter signs the citation and promises to appear in court. If the imposter does not appear in court, the magistrate may issue a bench warrant, but the warrant of arrest will be under the victim's name.
The identity theft victim may not know there is a warrant of arrest issued under his/her name. The victim may unexpectedly be detained pursuant to a routine traffic stop and then subsequently arrested and taken to county jail (booked) because of the outstanding bench warrant.
In some cases the imposter will appear in court for the traffic or misdemeanor violation and plead guilty without the victim being aware of this event. In other cases, the imposter is arrested and booked at the county jail for a felony such as a drunk driving or other serious public offense. The imposter provides the victim's name and personal information. This information is then recorded in the countywide data base and is usually transferred to the State's criminal records data base and possibly to the national data bases, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
Some identity theft victims, unaware of the earlier criminal activity by the imposter, may learn of the impersonation when the victim is denied employment or terminated from employment. In these cases, the employer conducted a background investigation and had relied upon the criminal history found under the victim's name. Note that the employer is legally obligated to inform the victim of the reason for the rejection of employment. (See Federal Trade Commission information about this requirement atwww.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/credit/bus08.shtm
Unfortunately, as with financial identity theft, the burden of clearing one's name within the criminal justice system is primarily on the victim. The victim must act quickly and assertively to minimize the damage. Yet, the responsibility to correct the erroneous data in the various criminal justice computer systems is with the officials working within the criminal justice system. There are no established procedures for clearing one's wrongful criminal record.