seeks to change the behavior and attitude of offenders so that they no longer participate in criminal activities. Finally, restitution involves making amends to the victim and in the case of identity theft, restitution is legitimately imposed to offset the financial damage that may have been done to a victim (McGuire, 2004). Deterrence requires that the penalties for identity theft be sufficient to convince potential thieves that such activity is not warranted. President George W. Bush signed a law requiring two additional years in prison for people convicted in federal courts for using stolen credit card data and other personal information to commit crimes with an additional five years if violators are associated |
