Information agents: An active security policy to limit identity theft and ensure privacy

Identity theft is the serious problem in North America. Criminals assume another person?s identity in order to fraudulently perform actions or crimes in another person?s name. These actions range from opening chequing accounts to renting apartments. Identity thieves can even perform serious crimes and impersonate the victim when arrested. This project proposes an active information policy in which all organizations must actively inform individuals when that particular individual?s personal information is created, edited, transferred, or received. To cope with the influx of information, each individual will have an Information Agent whose responsibility is to protect the privacy of said individual. An Information Agent will be a professional who provides information services that may be impossible for the general public to perform. Information Agents shall be responsible for maintaining and cataloguing information as it is received, ensuring that the information is accurate, and vigilantly detecting anomalies which would indicate criminal activity.