Identity Theft

Reports of these types of thefts in the news are so prevalent that it seems almost inevitable that each of us will encounter it at some point. According to the Federal Trade Commission, Identity Theft is the most-reported type of fraud, affecting 10 million Americans a year. It costs consumers, governments and businesses $50 billion a year in losses and in measures taken for Identity Theft protection.

However it's done, Identity Theft is incredibly scary to most people, who think of their personal identity as part of themselves that no one else should ever be able to take away.

Unlike a one-time robbery of your house, once your personal details are in criminals' hands, they can be stolen or sold over and over again and the effects can be felt for years by victims.

However, Identity Theft goes beyond crooks stealing mail and opening fake credit card accounts. Criminals can steal identities in an ever-increasing number of ways, often using the latest technologies and staying one step ahead of the authorities. Opening a new credit card account in an unsuspecting person's name is one of the most common ways of stealing a person's identity, with 15% of Identity Thefts involving this type of crime.

Other types of credit card fraud make up two-thirds of total Identity Theft-- including stealing already-existing credit card numbers, finding your personal information in databases, or stealing the actual card. The New York Times has reported that one of the most common forms of Identity Theft involves illegal immigrants, unable to take out loans for autos or credit without a Social Security number, using stolen numbers to get jobs and take out loans. Even if the person using the number does not have malicious ideas in mind, the credit report of the original number's owner will still be affected.