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Sandra Yi Reporting Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the country. If you were a victim, would you know what to do? A new website, launched today, can help.
This website is "ID Theft Central" for victims. You can report ID theft, check the status of your case, even get the latest information on new scams. This site will help victims. It will also help law enforcement solve these types of crimes quicker.
Shane: "It has been a nightmare."
And Shane is still living it, ever since someone stole his identity. In 2000, an officer pulled him over for a traffic violation, but he was thrown in jail on an arrest warrant.
Shane: "I had no idea what was going on."
He spent countless hours trying to sort it out. Years later his record still isn't clean. Last year he was fired from his job because of someone else's rap sheet.
Shane: "Your identity is everything in this country, and when somebody steals that from you, it's very hard to prove that you didn't commit those things, you didn't do the things they say you did."
Shane is just one victim of this fast-growing crime. Authorities say victims spend hundreds of hours and hundreds of dollars trying to recover their good name.
Aaron Rosen, Utah Peace Officer's Association: "Well this, unlike a health epidemic, is a criminal epidemic."
But a new website can help victims. The Identity Theft Reporting Information System, or IRIS, is the first of its kind in the country.
Mark Shurtleff, Utah Attorney General: "As you know, identity thieves steal our money, our names and our time, and what we're saying is double click, that's it."
Victims can file a complaint online. The information will go directly to the proper law enforcement agency.
Scott Morrill, IRIS Project Manager: "Victims may go back as often as they want and view the updates and see whatever law enforcement enters into the database."
Victims can also find a checklist to help resolve problems. There is also information about current scams. Shane says he didn't know what to do and the website could have helped him.
Shane: "Education is the biggest thing."
If you don't have a computer, you can also go to your local bank for help accessing the system. And there are plans to expand it.
