A federal crackdown on "identity theft fraud" is moving into high gear.

Under a new law, the crime now carries a mandatory two-year sentence and is taking offenders off the streets and putting them behind bars.

Convicted felon Timothy Rippe is now in federal prison. Rippe stole the identity of an elderly Kaimuki woman and went after her life savings. Rippe even stole the woman's stock portfolio.

Asst. U.S. Attorney Loretta Sheehan said Rippe cooked up an elaborate scheme, using a vacant house in Kaimuki as a mail drop -- even having the utilities turned on at the residence.

Rippe got his hands on replacement stock certificates and had them delivered to the house, said Sheehan. Someone got suspicious and alerted law enforcement after the 96-year-old victim ran through over $50,000 in two months while Rippe was in the process of selling stock for cash through a local company, Sheehan said.

Now, Rippe faces a seven-year jail term and five years probation thanks to new aggravated identity theft law.

A joint task force of local and federal agents targeting identity theft fraud is starting to see a 100 percent conviction rate with offenders.

"We have a big problem here," said U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo. "With this two-year mandatory prison we are able to take them off the streets. You see now, the government doesn't need a high dollar amount to prosecute."

Most recently, the government is going after a Jason Perrott, who is accused of obtaining a Sears MasterCard using information that was stolen from a briefcase left in a car.

Perrott faces a minimum two-year jail term and five years of supervised release.

To avoid becoming a victim of identity theft, guard your personal information and your mail closely; shred old credit card statements, bank checks, and tax returns; and don't skimp on virus protection if you bank or shop online.

If you think someone may have stolen your identity, call the police and issue a fraud alert.