Utah Identity Theft Laws

Our phones and computers can make doing business so much more convenient. They can also expose our personal information to some very public places, increasing the risk of identity theft. Fortunately, the Beehive State has laws to help protect citizens from identity theft, and punish identity thieves. This is an introduction to identity theft laws in Utah.

Identity Theft Laws

Identity theft occurs when one person uses anotherâ€™s identifying information of for financial gain, and identity thieves are always on the lookout for your name, date of birth, social security number, driverâ€™s license number, or anything else they can use to gain access to your money. Utah laws make identity theft a felony if the loss is over $1,000, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and $10,000 in fines, along with restitution paid to the victim(s).

Utah Identity Theft Statutes

The table below lists Utahâ€™s identity theft statutes.

Code Section	Utah Code 76-6-1101, et seq.: Identity Fraud Act
Classification of Crime/Penalties	If loss is less than $1,000: class A misdemeanor; If loss is $1,000 or more but less than $5,000: third degree felony; If loss is $5,000 or more: second degree felony; multiple violations in are aggregated into a single offense
Who May Prosecute	Attorney general must investigate violations in addition to other law enforcement agencies
Exemptions to Identity Theft Laws	-
Civil Lawsuit Allowed?	-
Civil Remedies Available	-
Misc.	Any violation of identity theft laws is also a violation of the 'Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act'

Utahâ€™s identity theft laws are great, but they can only be enforced after a crime occurs. Itâ€™s up to you to protect yourself against identity theft:

Read your credit card statements, bank account statements, and any government statements carefully to check for irregular activity.
Shred your bills and credit card offers before throwing them away.
Monitor your credit report for any posted credit activity.
Make your passwords hard to guess by using numbers, capital and lower case letters, and even symbols, and change them frequently.
Don't use the same password for all your accounts.
Be wary of providing your social security number and other personal information over the phone.

For more information on how to protect yourself from identity theft, visit FindLawâ€™s Consumer Protection section.

Related Resources for Utah Identity Theft Laws

State laws prohibiting identity theft can be as hard to unravel as the scams they prohibit. If you would like legal assistance regarding an identity theft matter, you can consult with a Utah consumer protection attorney. You can also find additional articles and information by visiting FindLaw's sections on Identity Theft Basics and Stolen Identity.