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Rise in Number of ID Theft SARs ‘Alarming’: FinCEN Director

By Colby Adams

The number of suspicious activity reports filed on potential identity theft increased over 120 percent between 2004 and 2009, the head of the U.S. Treasury Department's financial intelligence unit said Monday. The 123 percent jump coincided with an 89 percent rise in the total number of reports, known as SARs, over the same 5-year period, said James Freis, the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) during the American Bankers Association's anti-money laundering compliance conference in Washington, D.C. "It is clear that the reports of identity theft have been rising over the years at an alarming rate," said Freis,...

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