Yes, Illinois recognizes identity theft as a crime against businesses.
Under the Illinois Criminal Code, “identity theft” occurs when a person knowingly “uses any personal identifying information or personal identification document of another person to fraudulently obtain credit, money, goods, services, or other property.” “Person” is defined to include a “public or private corporation, government, partnership, unincorporated association, or other entity,” and “personal identifying information” includes names, addresses, and account numbers. Consequently, we believe the maker of fictitious checks using a business’s personal identifying information could be prosecuted for identity theft.
Also, as you noted, the Experian website addresses and provides answers to several questions on business identity theft, such as how to place a fraud alert on a business credit file and why monitoring a business credit report is an important component of fraud prevention.
For resources related to our guidance, please see:
- Illinois Criminal Code, 720 ILCS 5/16-30(a)(1) (“A person commits identity theft when he or she knowingly: (1) uses any personal identifying information or personal identification document of another person to fraudulently obtain credit, money, goods, services, or other property; . . .”)
- Illinois Criminal Code, 720 ILCS 5/2-15 (“‘Person’ means an individual, natural person, public or private corporation, government, partnership, unincorporated association, or other entity.”)
- Illinois Criminal Code, 720 ILCS 5/16-0.1 (“‘Personal identifying information’ means any of the following information: (1) A person’s name. (2) A person’s address. . . . (4) A person’s telephone number. . . . (9) The number assigned to a person’s depository account, savings account, or brokerage account. (10) The number assigned to a person’s credit or debit card, commonly known as a ‘Visa Card’, ‘MasterCard’, ‘American Express Card’, ‘Discover Card’, or other similar cards whether issued by a financial institution, corporation, or business entity. (11) Personal identification numbers. (12) Electronic identification numbers. (13) Digital signals. (14) User names, passwords, and any other word, number, character or combination of the same usable in whole or part to access information relating to a specific individual, or to the actions taken, communications made or received, or other activities or transactions of a specific individual. . . .”)
- Experian, How can I place a fraud alert on my business credit file? (“If you believe or have proof that your business has become victim to business fraud and/or identity theft, you can place a fraud alert on your business credit report. To do so, send Experian Commercial Relations a signed letter on your company letterhead requesting that a fraud alert be placed on your business credit report and include a brief explanation why. You will need to include the signature of the company’s business owner, along with that person’s contact information. Experian will add a message alert to the company’s business credit report asking that the company be notified prior to any lender extending business credit.”)
- Experian, My business has fallen victim to business fraud and/or identity theft. What should I do? (“Experian recommends that you place a fraud alert with Experian and any of the other credit bureaus.”)
- Experian, How to Protect Your Business From Identity Theft and Other Forms of Fraud (“The first step in business identity theft protection is to regularly check your company’s credit report for unusual activity that might indicate identity fraud. Enroll in a monitoring service of your company’s credit report so you can regularly inspect it for atypical activity that might be a sign of fraud.”)