The theft of personal information used to assume the persona of another person to conduct financial transactions in their name and under their financial status is the most common complaint from consumers in all 50 States, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Federal laws have been enacted to assist victims of identity theft in purging inaccurate information from their credit records due to fraudulent transactions by identity thieves. Federal law also assists victims of identity theft in removing from credit accounts unauthorized charges by identity thieves. In addition, Federal laws impose criminal penalties on those who assume another person's identity through the use of fraudulent identification documents. Also reviewed are State laws and recent legislative proposals aimed at preventing identity theft and providing additional remedies. This report identifies and explains the provisions of each law or type of law that address some act or consequence of identity theft. 44 notes