Policy Text
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
1
5.9 Identity Theft Investigations
5.9.2 Investigating Identity Theft (Revised: 8/1/14 )
A. It shall be the policy of the UCSF Police Department to investigate all reported identity
thefts. Identity theft is a growing problem that incorporates numerous related crimes in
multiple jurisdictions. It has been reported that the average time spent by the victim of an
identity theft is 400 hours of their own time to clear their name, in addition to the number
of hours and resources spent b y law enforcement and/or credit and business
organizations. As a result, PC § 530.5(a) was enacted on January 1, 1998. Prior to
enactment of this legislation, only the creditor was the victim. Now the person whose
information is used is also a victim.
B. The responding officer will initiate a report and supply the victim of the identity theft
with a copy of that report. The purpose of the report is so the victim can begin to repair
his/her credit, to facilitate appropriate prosecution, and to inform the victim of prevention
and resources to minimize the future damage that can occur from this crime.
1. Initiate a report listing Identity Theft in the “Occurred Incident Type” section.
2. A PC § 530.5(a) report should contain all known incidents of fraudulent activity
(e.g., Visa Card account number 1234 5678 9012 3456 applied for in the victim’s
name).
3. If the victim has made reports to other agencies (e.g., U.S. Secret Service, U.S.
Post Office, DMV, other law enforcement agencies), those reports should be
referenced in the initial crime report, with case numbers if known.
4. If a reporting officer believes the victim of an identity theft might be unaware of
the incident, the officer sh ould attempt to contact and inform that victim. The
officer should document if contact was made.
5. The officer should refer the victim of the Government Web site
www.ftc.gov/idtheft for the booklet on “Take Char ge: Fighting Back against
Identity Theft” and give them an Identity Pamphlet with their case number.
6. Identity theft prevention presentations will be provided to the campus community
by department personnel.
C. If the victim is a member of UCSF and disc overs that someone has used his or her
personal identifying information to apply for a credit card and that credit card was then
subsequently mailed to and/or used at UCSF or any other jurisdiction, the following
would apply:
1. UCSF Police Department will take a PC § 530.5(a) report for the theft of personal
identification information.
2. The other police agency would be responsible for investigating the illegal use of
that credit card and take a report for violation of PC § 484(g) (“Using Access
Card Obt ained without Consent of Cardholder or Issuer”) or any other applicable
section.
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
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D. If the victim resides in San Francisco , but the victim’s personal identifying information
was used illegally to obtain and use a credit card at UCSF, SFPD will take the PC §
530.5(a) report, and UCSF Police will take the PC § 484(g) report.
E. In the event that an identity theft is reported and a fraud committed over the Internet or
telephone with jurisdiction uncertain, the initiating officer should:
1. Initiate an identi ty theft re port (as detailed above)
2. Obtain as much information as possible re garding the associated fraud(s)
3. Document the information
4. Forward the report to Investigations for follow -up.
F. Investigative Responsibilities
1. Upon receipt of an identity theft (or identity theft -related) report, the Detective
Lieutenant shall evaluate the Agency’s responsibilities for the case.
2. The assigned investigator shall investigate all practical leads that fall within the
Department’s jurisdiction.
3. The investigator shall assess the potential to successfully resolve the case. If
applicable, the investigator should contact other involved agencies and forward
reports when appropriate or when the successful prosecution is dependent upon
the other agency’s investigation of an associated offense.
4. The investigator will have the responsibility for the disposition of the case .