THE HISTORY of the IDENTITY THEFT RESOURCE CENTER®

1999

• December – Under the umbrella of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Linda and Jay Foley founded the Identity Theft Resource Center, originally named VOICES (Victims of Crimes Extended Services)

2000

• In Spring 2000, the name was changed to the Identity Theft Resource Center
• ITRC was originally run solely by Linda Foley
• A support group was started to allow victims to share experiences
• September - Linda Foley and the Identity Theft Resource Center received an award and gold medal for Excellence in Service from the “Foundation for the Improvement of Justice”
• October - Linda Foley spoke at the Federal Trade Commission Symposium and the Social Security Administration Identity Theft Symposium in Washington, DC.
• November - National Volunteer program was begun with victims that were met at the Identity Theft Symposiums in DC
• First ITRC Website started
• First grant received from the California Consumer Protection Foundation

2001

• Jay Foley joined the ITRC as a full time director
• ITRC asked to participate in the California Department of Motor Vehicles Identity Theft taskforce
• ITRC asked to participate in the California Attorney General Identity Theft Taskforce
• Staff expanded to include Sheila Gordon, now the Director of Victim Services
• ITRC’s website expanded and considerable material was added to the site
• Legislatively - ITRC influenced the introduction and passage of SB 125 (Alpert) which allowed victims access to the transaction and application records of fraudulent accounts opened in their names. This bill was a landmark bill and has since been adopted federally as part of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (section 609e).
• Linda Foley, as a representative of ITRC, first wrote the Identity Theft Consumer Page for the AT&T Phone Book, and has kept it updated over the years.

2002

• Awards- Linda Foley received the 10 Leadership Award for Distinguished Individual Leadership
• ITRC received a Certificate of Recognition by California Assemblyman Howard Wayne for exemplary and tireless efforts on the behalf of California consumers and victims of identity theft
• By the end of the year, ITRC was working with more than 150 victims and consumers weekly and receiving referrals from law enforcement and governmental agencies from across the country
• The ITRC website averaged 17,000-18,000 visitors monthly, with a high of nearly 34,000 visitors in December. It had expended considerably and was noted as one of the most comprehensive web sites on identity theft.
• Legislatively, SB 1254 (Alpert- expanded definition of identity theft and included information trafficking) and AB 2456 (Jackson- inmates forbidden to have access to personal identifying information during work release, community service, etc) were signed into law and ITRC was a technical advisor to legislators in several states including Texas.
• ITRC formed a board of directors, an advisory board and filed to become a nonprofit, allowing it to separate from the umbrella of UCAN and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
• The first victim that ITRC aided, Wilma, was featured in Ladies’ Home Journal
• Founder Linda Foley, was featured in Biography Magazine, Sept. 2002
• ITRC undertook the arduous task of coordinating 22 county wide presentations about identity theft in one night with the help of local law enforcement and community organizations.

2003

• ITRC incorporates in California and receives IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit status
• Commendation from California Gray Davis for dedicated staff of the ITRC and their invaluable contributions to the San Diego community
• Received San Diego Bar Association Annual Award for Outstanding Service by a Distinguished Organization
• ITRC’s website visibility continues to grow, with a year-end total of 1,015,390 visitors and 12,774,407 hits
• ID Analytics becomes web site sponsor, and ITRC designs a new website that enhances visibility and accessibility of material
• Several significant grants were received by the ITRC, allowing Wilma, our first aided victim, to become a staff member
• ITRC became a technical advisor during the creation of the new FACT Act. In that capacity, ITRC staff worked with various federal Senators and House members and Mr. Wayne Abernathy, the Asst. Secretary of the Treasury
• In Louisiana, Texas, California and other states, ITRC staff and volunteers helped to pass some vital legislation and continue to advise state Attorney Generals and legislators on bills for 2004
• ITRC designed and published its first major study about identity theft victimization. Identity Theft- The Aftermath 2003 was released on September 23, 2003. A collaborative work with a psychologist, business analyst and economics professor at California State University Sacramento, this study validates that victims of identity theft suffer the same emotional trauma as victims of rape, aggravated assault and repeated battering. The study includes financial impact, time lost, impact on business, responsiveness of various entities with which victims interact, etc.
• Analysts and reporters agreed on Identity Theft – The Aftermath 2003: This is painful to read but worthy of attention by everyone . It is still used as a benchmark by the media and legislators
• ITRC created and designed numerous new Fact Sheets, dramatically expanding the breadth of identity theft subjects covered to assist the business community in regards to safe information handling
• The ITRC had several articles published in trade magazines for the Human Resources and Security industries
• Legislatively, ITRC advised California Senator Alpert in the creation and passage of SB 752 that recommended thumbprints be added to citations issued in cases when no identification document is available
• ITRC was invited to serve as an advisor to the San Diego Police Department, Chula Vista Police Department, and San Diego District Attorney. *ITRC consulted with the FBI Cybercrimes Division and San Diego CATCH team *ITRC worked with the US Secret Service on a CD/video training program about identity theft.
• Linda Foley and ITRC was featured in San Diego Jewish Journal, June 2003
• ITRC, along with Jay and Linda Foley, featured in San Diego Union Tribune, October 20, 2003, “Getting Your Life Back”

2004

• ITRC received The 2004 Dept. of Justice National Crime Victims Service Award (click to http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/ncvrw/2004/2004bios.htm )
• ITRC was commended by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein for service and excellence
• ITRC applied for the name “Identity Theft Resource Center” to be a registered trademark (approved in 2006).
• Identity Theft: The Aftermath 2004 was created and published, confirming many of the conclusions found in the 2003 study.
• The ITRC received a grant from the San Diego County Supervisors to expand identity theft education in the county. It did so through community fairs and a Roving Clinic held at Albertson’s Supermarkets on Saturday afternoons (13 per month starting in October).
• Legislatively, ITRC worked as part of a taskforce advising on the federal Fair and Accurate Transactions Act.

2005

• ChoicePoint Corporation became a major multi-year sponsor of the ITRC
• ITRC, along with Liberty Alliance, help an identity theft symposium – bringing together members of law enforcement, business and consumer advocacy groups – to discuss this crime in an open forum.
• ITRC featured in Newsweek, July 4, 2005
• ITRC featured in Time Magazine, July 31, 2005
• ITRC published new Fact Sheets on Check Fraud, Check Theft and other new subjects.
• A new Scam section and Student’s Corner is added to the ITRC website
• The Spanish language section is expanded and a part-time Spanish advisor was added to the staff.
• ITRC serves as an advisor to the San Diego Police Department, Chula Vista Police Department, and the San Diego District Attorney *ITRC serves on a multi-jurisdictional taskforce that is studying the link between drugs and identity theft *ITRC works with the FBI Cyber Crimes Division, San Diego CATCH team, the AUDIT program for CAUSE, IPSA, and the National Association of Attorneys General
• ITRC is finally able to move to our current office space and begin expansion of phone lines, computers, and staff.
• ITRC received the Time Magazine “50 Coolest Websites” award
• ITRC received PC Magazine’s “Top 101 Websites” award

2006

• ITRC designed, wrote and produced the first teen video on identity theft, Stolen Futures, and made it available for free on its website, with funding provided by ChoicePoint.
• The ITRC developed a teen website section to provide materials for parents and teachers, as well as research information and games for teens to use
• ITRC worked with the Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) on various programs including a new handbook for victim advisors (done through the ILJ) and a webcast on id theft for the OVC Web Forum.
• ITRC created a corporate overview packet, providing a clear and transparent view of the company
• ITRC featured in Reader’s Digest, March 2006, focusing on child identity theft
• ITRC provided victim assistance to 5,816 distinct identity theft
• ITRC website was visited by 1,077,306 visitors, with 11,325,653 total hits, representing a 14% increase in visits over 2005.
• ITRC completed its company redevelopment program including
  o Installation of servers and network
  o Installation of advanced call center phone system
  o Selection of management team
• SalesForce CRM installed and designed including:
  o Complete case management system
  o Business opportunities coordination
  o Media coordination system
  o Grants and Sponsors coordination system
• ITRC invited to serve as advisors to corporate entities regarding information handling
• ITRC continued serving as advisors to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies
• ITRC provided major presentations for the National Association of Professional Background Screeners, American Bankers, National Association of Consumer Action Attorneys, ANSI-BBB Standards Forum, Washington State Governor’s Conference on Identity Theft, Ohio State Attorney General’s Conference on Identity Theft, and the California Governor’s Conference on Identity Theft.
• ITRC provided presentations at 52 separate events

2007

• ITRC staff developed and published a completely new website to replace the former site (www.idtheftcenter.org).   The new website features enhanced user friendliness, updated crime trends, victim Solutions and Fact Sheets, consumer education documents, and streaming video.  An interactive “State and Local Resource Map” was also developed to make access to state laws and resources easy for the user.  This has proven to be a very popular web page.
• Trained ITRC staff members on website management, allowing ITRC to respond to needed changes in real time.  The new website not only allows much easier navigation for the user, but also allows approximately 90% of the content on the site to be modified or updated by the ITRC staff on a moments notice.  We now have 4 trained staff members who are responsible for the daily updates required to stay current on identity theft issues (such as new scams and data breaches). 
• Our website is a critical tool in the ability of the ITRC to communicate with an ever increasing number of victims, now estimated at 15 million annually (year ending August 2006 - Gartner Study).  The website is also in continuous use by law enforcement, business, government, and the financial community.
• ITRC staff updated all existing ITRC Fact Sheets, researched and created additional Fact Sheets, and developed Solutions to reflect new laws and pertinent victim information.  Totaling more than 230 documents, these were all prepared for publishing on the new ITRC website on May 10, 2007.
• ITRC researched and developed more than 30 Fact Sheets and Solutions to be translated into Spanish for publishing on the website.  These were translated under an in-kind grant from McElroy Translation in Austin, Texas.  This makes us one of a very few repositories of Spanish information on identity theft.
• Created, deployed, analyzed and published “Identity Theft: The Aftermath 2006” study, the fourth in a series of studies conducted by the ITRC.  These are unique in that they are the only studies currently available that focus on the impact of the crime on victims and families.  These studies are often quoted and referenced in other studies, including a variety of government studies.
• The ITRC designed and populated a completely new database for compiling the 2007 breach list.  This new tool allows the ITRC to track data breaches “real time” and post current comprehensive reports on the website in a few minutes.  The 2007 breach list is updated every Tuesday morning. The new list allows us to list article attributions, to better organize breach information, and also lets us provide statistics regarding breach types and number of records exposed.  Additionally, it gives positive attention to those who encrypt important information.  The weekly reports on both breaches and statistics are available at: http://www.idtheftcenter.org/artman2/publish/lib_survey/Press_Release_-_2007_Breach_List.shtml
• During 2007, the ITRC participated in 53 events including keynote speaker opportunities, panels, seminars, trainings and community presentations.  This included: Identity Theft: More Than Just a Financial Crime for the U.S. Attorneys Office; Identity Theft: Governmental Issues and Responsibilities for the League of California Cities; and Identity Theft Best Practices during a two-day work shop for the National Notary Association.  Also, Identity Theft: Protecting Yourself and Your Agency was the topic of a presentation for the Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada.  Additionally, the ITRC did six presentations, in three different cities, on identity theft awareness for the DHS-U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
• Privacy and Identity Theft Case Study was presented in August 2007 by the ITRC during the national Privacy Symposium conducted at Harvard University.
• Throughout 2007, ITRC spokespersons responded to more than 450 media requests.  These ranged from college newspapers to morning and evening national TV news programs.