The ITTF was charged with recommending "practical and effective solutions to combat identity theft." This report indicates that "identity theft" occurs "when an imposter misuses personal identifying information to assume another's identity or obtain goods, services, or benefits in his name." A chart is presented to show how identity thieves have used victims' information for the period from January 1 through December 31, 2001, in both Virginia and locations throughout the country. The percentage of victims is shown for each category of offense. Identity theft for the purpose of credit card fraud had the highest percentage of victims (53 percent) in the eight categories for both Virginia and the country as a whole. Following sections on the history of the ITTF, work group assignments, and a summary of ITTF meetings, findings are presented for the work groups on law enforcement, business, prevention, and consumers. Regarding the state of identity theft in Virginia, the Task Force concludes that it impacts Virginians with "alarming frequency and devastating results," making it a significant and threatening area of criminal activity and one of law enforcement's greatest challenges. Among 27 recommendations for countering identity theft are legislative amendments that pertain to prohibiting the theft of personal identifying information of any person, living or deceased, and increasing the penalty for identity theft to that of the grand larceny State statute. Other legislative recommendations focus on countering particular fraudulent uses of stolen personal information; reporting mechanisms; prevention measures, such as limiting the required use of Social Security numbers in public and private information exchanges; and the correcting of adverse credit records due to the criminal activity of identity thieves.