Identity theft is on the rise

A gripping article at the New York Times (sorry, registration required) details the ever-more-sophisticated schemes by which people assume the identies of other individuals (or even businesses) to get lines of credit and other financial leverage. It can take years for the victim to sort out the wreckage and restore their credit history.

In a report prepared by its consumer protection bureau, the F.T.C. said 27.3 million Americans had their identities stolen from April 1998 to April 2003 - with more than a third of them, or 9.9 million, victimized in the last 12 months of that period alone. The crimes ranged from the theft of a credit card number to more elaborate identity thefts used to secure loans. During those 12 months, the report said, businesses and financial institutions suffered about $48 billion in losses because of identity theft, and victimized consumers paid more than $5 billion in out-of-pocket expenses to regain their financial identities.

There's little you can do about a corrupt employee at a company you do business with, but you can consider steps like shredding your records and using a made-up "mother's maiden name" for businesses that you are likely to call about account issues . . . And never trust an email that says that your ISP/phone company/credit card company wants you to reenter a bunch of sensitive information on their web site to keep your account active! Forward the email to the company's abuse department, and/or call to check into it. Suspicion is your best defense when it comes to your identifying information.

(via Follow Me Here)