Safeguard Your Identity
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Identity
theft has quickly become the new "crime of the 21st century,"
as these eye-popping statistics make clear:
- More
than 27 million Americans have been the victims of identity theft
over the past five years.
- Identity
theft cost businesses and banks over $47 billion and consumers
another $5 billion in 2003 alone.
- The
average victim of identity theft will spend nearly $1,400 and
175 hours cleaning up the mess caused by identity theft.
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Why has identity
theft exploded as such a huge problem? There are many factors, but perhaps
the biggest is the simple fact that identity theft is a relatively easy
crime to commit - and to get away with, notes Frank Abagnale, a respected
authority on identity theft and a reformed identity thief who was the
subject of the movie "Catch Me If You Can."
Identity
theft is much easier to commit and less risky than most other crimes,
and when they're caught, thieves usually face much lighter sentences.
It can also be more lucrative - the average thief's take per victim is
$17,000, and they can work many victims at a time. This compares to the
average bank robbery take of just $3,500.
"Criminals
realize identity theft is the simplest scam in the world," says Abagnale.
"We live in a time when if you make it easy for people to steal from
you, chances are someone will."
We have created
this special section of our Web site to provide you with information to
help educate you about identity theft: What it is, how it occurs, how
to protect yourself and what to do if you are a victim of identity theft.
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