The act of obtaining someone else's name and personal data through fraud and using that name and data for economic gain is called identity theft. Identity theft is criminalized in the United States because of the possible acts the thief may commit following the stealing of name or personal data. The thief can use the name or the personal data for credit or debit card fraud, amassing huge amounts of debts under the stolen name, or committing other crimes using the stolen name. Identity theft, however, was not always a federal crime. It was not until 1998, following an infamous identity theft case, when the U.S. Congress enacted the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, which criminalized the act.

Personal data, such as Social Security number, telephone number, and bank account or credit card number, is easy to obtain even for amateur thieves, which is why consumers are vehemently warned about scams used to commit the crime. There are many ways to obtain personal data, including "shoulder surfing" when the thief observes a person when punching a credit card or telephone number or when a person listens to a conservation disclosing personal data. In addition, identity theft can also be committed by intercepting mails disclosing the personal data. There are laws requiring banks and similar institutions to provide added security to their mails, but these laws are not universal in nature and often vary from state to state, or thieves find a new way to obtain the personal data.

Cases of identity theft is increasing in the United States, especially with the advent of social media platforms where people easily and unknowingly share private details about themselves. Because identify theft is a criminal crime, federal prosecutors, together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, work hand in hand in the pursuit of identify thieves, these crimes often go undetected until after the thief has amassed substantial credit under somebody else's name. When found guilty of identity theft, the convict faces a fine, prison term of not more than 15 years and forfeiture of personal property used to commit the offense.

The penalties imposed on persons convicted of identity theft are steep. However, the damages that this crime have on the persons whose names or personal data were used are even steeper as they face huge amounts of debts that they still need to prove as not theirs and emotional stress when the bank or the credit card company downgrades their credit rating. In addition, when the identity thief commits a sensational crime and the crime gets wide media coverage, the person whose name was used to commit the crime becomes humiliated and trying to repair one's damaged status in the community is no longer easy. When scammed and robbed of one's name and data, it is best to employ the expert advice of identity theft lawyers to minimize the damage the thief may bring to one's financial and personal reputation. An expert lawyer would know where to report the crime and what laws to use to repair the damages.

Truck accidents, like motor vehicle accidents, cause numerous personal injuries and deaths each year in the United States. While not as common as car accidents, truck accidents bring greater damages due to their size and weight. Trucks defined as commercial freight trucks, commonly known as 18-wheelers. Federal laws govern the trucking industry as they are part-and-parcel of interstate commerce. The federal government establishes the manufacturing standards of commercial and heavy trucks and regulates the use and operation of these trucks. States also have their own laws and regulations relating to trucks and truck accidents.

Truck accident law ensures that personal injuries sustained by occupants of a passenger vehicle as a result of a collision with an 18-wheeler is adequately compensated. Like all personal injury cases, the foremost consideration when determining liability in truck accidents is negligence. The most common party who is negligent would be the truck driver, and because truck drivers are professional drivers, multiple sources of law will apply. The truck driver, however, may not be the only party who acted negligently. Proving negligence on the part of other possible responsible parties may not be as easy as proving negligence on the part of the truck driver.

Truck accidents differ from motor vehicle accidents because the determination of who is at fault is more complicated. Because of the commercial nature of trucks, there are many parties that could be possibly liable for the damage or the death. Responsible parties could also include the truck's owner, lessee, or manufacturer. The truck's shipper or loader, when the cargo is not properly loaded, could also be responsible, while the truck's mechanics could also be responsible when it failed to check the condition of the truck prior to travel. The party responsible for the damages could be one party or all of the parties mentioned above. In addition to these responsible parties, insurance companies can also be liable for the damages as most businesses are required to get insurance coverage for these types of risks. The bulk of litigation arising from truck accidents would be the determination of who is liable, as these parties would naturally try to avoid paying damages and blame another party for the cause of the accident. When a plaintiff files a personal injury lawsuit arising from a truck accident, the plaintiff must identify all possible responsible parties because there is a statute of limitations for all personal injury claims. It is better to name all possible responsible parties at the filing of the lawsuit than add the parties after as the statute of limitations may have already ran out.

A typical truck accident litigation in the past would have the trucking company arguing against liability by pointing out that it does not own the truck and it does not employ the driver. Current federal laws, however, now state that any trucking company is responsible for all accidents involving a truck that has its name displayed on the vehicle. This means that the trucking company is liable even if the truck is leased from another company and the driver is an independent contractor.

Aside from proving liability, the plaintiff must show the extent of his damages by engaging expert witnesses such as a physician to assess the physical damage and an economist to assess damages arising from loss of income and earning capacity. On top of these experts, the plaintiff must also engage the expertise of a truck accident law attorney to skillfully navigate the complicated litigation against those who might also be responsible.