Identity Theft: The Talented, but Dreaded, Mr. Ripley's

In 2005, the largest volume of complaints the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received (37%) involved the exploitation of an individual's identity. The crime, known simply as identity theft, or identity fraud, victimized more than 250,000 Americans. Unfortunately, like most other crimes, the preventative methods for reducing the occurences of identity theft are less than full-proof. In addition, the recovery of one's assets, credentials, and overall trust or confidence in conducting financial transactions is anything but speedy. In any event, all Americans that harness a valued identity or any degree of credit should be aware of the dangers they face, and what precautions to take for the protection of themselves.

Although identity theft can be conducted using a vast array of means, the ends number only two. The first of such is called acocunt takeover. In this situation, a criminal obtains stolen pieces of personal information, such as a driver's license number, or a Social Security Number, to access an individual's existing finances (credit cards, bank accounts, etc.). Some criminals may take this one step further and commit true name theft. This crime also involves the illegal obtainment of personal information, but in so doing, criminals open new accounts in the victim's name.

Identity theft criminals don't discriminate, for they make both men and women of any age their victims. Accofding to Data Clearinghouse (a research firm that conducts an annual survey for the Federal Trade Commission), in 2005 the highest percentage of all identity theft victims (29%) fell between thte ages of 18-29. People in their thirties registered a close second at 24%. Generally, the younger a victim is the easier it is for a criminal to access their personal records. This is because youthful victims often times do not safeguard their personal information through credit monitoring. In addition, students attending universities regularly receive credit card applications in the mail, which are easy to intercept. Also, many universities post their students' grades by a student's Social Security Number.