Identity Theft: Crime of the Century?

Identity theft is a growing epidemic in the U.S. and worldwide. Chances are, if you haven't been directly impacted by it, you know someone that has.In fact, identity theft led the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) list of consumer fraud complaints for 2007 - and it's been at the top of the list for the past seven years. Of the 813,899 total complaints in 2007, 32 percent were related to identity theft. That's 258,427 complaints. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/02/fraud.shtm

Identity theft broadly refers to the fraudulent use of someone else's personal information. Criminals actively seek out sensitive or identifying data - like passwords and social security numbers - from unsuspecting victims. Sometimes they do it low-tech style by dumpster diving, raiding post boxes or posing as "legitimate" telemarketers. Today, though, there are many high-tech techniques wrecking much havoc. Fraudsters are using malware, hijacking electronic transmissions, and perpetrating email scams to get what they need.

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