When the U.S. Congress criminalized identity theft in October 1998, it directed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish a national program that would include a centralized complaint and education service for victims of identity theft. Currently, the FTC's Identity Theft Program addresses the crime by coordinating victim assistance and education, assisting law enforcement by providing investigative resources and facilitating information sharing, and promoting prevention efforts and best practices through industry outreach. A new Federal law, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act), provides identity-theft victims with important new rights and remedies. One provision of this act that simplifies the investigation of this crime relates to the documents used to open fraudulent accounts; for example, if a company extends credit to a suspect who has used the victim's personal information, the victim can now obtain records of the transaction at no charge from the company, but only if the victim provides a copy of a police report and other required documentation. Law enforcement agencies can obtain these documents without a subpoena if a victim authorizes it in writing. The Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse maintained by the FTC since 1999 contains more than 700,000 identity-theft complaints. This facilitates cross-jurisdictional investigations and the analysis of trends. The FTC has also partnered with the International Association of Chiefs of Police and other law enforcement organizations to offer regional 1-day seminars to provide information and tools to police managers that facilitate effective investigations of identity theft.