Civil Remedy Proposed for Victims of Identity Theft

A civil remedy has been proposed by a state legislature that will make it easier for victims to sue for damages when they have been harmed by thieves who specialize in creating fake online profiles. The bill (House Bill 1652) if passed, will make it easier for any person who has been impersonated on a social networking site or an online bulletin board (such as Craigslist) to file a lawsuit based on invasion of privacy. The bill also states that along with other consideration, the electronic impersonation must have resulted in some sort of injury to the victim (such as physical injury, financial damages or injury to the person's reputation.)

Incidents That Inspired the Bill

In 2007, a Tacoma, Washington woman's house was ransacked after someone posted a false advertisement on Craigslist that invited people to take anything from her home for free. Another form of identity theft and invasion of privacy that has been occurring involves the popular website, Facebook. False Facebook profiles have increased in number across the nation, which are being used as instruments to injure victims' characters and reputations.

According to a recent Channel 7 report, a Greenville, South Carolina teen found that a complete stranger had created a Facebook profile using her name. The unknown perpetrator included pictures of her, and was even communicating with her friends. Pranks like this move into the field of identity theft, which is often considered a white collar crime. Sometimes when the intentions are not even necessarily malicious, but were done as a simple prank, negative results can occur that were not anticipated, and one is charged with a crime.

Have you been accused of a crime in Orange County?

If you or someone you care about has been charged with identity theft or some other white collar crime in Orange County or surrounding areas, you should seek advice from an experienced Orange County criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible. At the Law Office of Bruce C. Bridgman, we have over 30 years of experience in successfully handling criminal defense cases, including white collar crime.

We can thoroughly investigate the matter and start building you a defense to counter the charges being brought against you. We will work diligently with you to help you avoid a conviction that could cause you to lose your reputation and freedoms that you enjoy today. Even if you are just being investigated for a white collar crime, you still need to get competent legal advice before any formal charges are filed to avoid further complications.

For competent legal representation, contact an Orange County white collar crime attorney in our office for a free consultation and we will review your charges in confidence.