Finland is moving to criminalise identity theft in a new legislative amendment proposed by a Justice Ministry working group.
According to the ministry team, identity theft would become a criminal offence if it resulted in financial loss or any other major detriment to the victim.
For instance acts such as creating a bogus profile in social media using someone else's personal data could in some instances be deemed a criminal act. The group pointed out that such cases could incur considerable financial costs as victims attempt to repair any damage done.
While the working group is ready to throw the book at offenders, they did pull their punches, proposing a fine as a maximum penalty.
Identity theft isn’t currently classified as a crime in Finnish law books. However perpetrators of identity theft are often convicted of other crimes such as fraud or libel.
The ministry working group proposal arises from a consideration of the implications of a new European Union directive on cyber crimes on Finnish statutes. The directive aims to put a stop to identity theft as part of wider criminal activities such as cyber attacks.
The working group proposal will next be circulated for comments.