8 million households experience identity theft-31 percent increase in credit card theft-prevention resources available

Violent and property crime is down throughout America and that finding is confirmed through the National Crime Survey, see http://crimeinamerica.net/crime-rates-united-states/.  But are offenders moving from street crime to identity theft?  With the large increase in fraud activities (much of it coming from other countries) it’s hard to say, but it’s a growing concern to law enforcement agencies that lack budgets and trained personnel to adequately deal with the problem. Crime in America.Net.

Highlights from the Department of Justice report  include the following:

• The number of households with at least one member who experienced one or more types of identity theft increased 23% from 2005 to 2007.
• From 2005 to 2007, the number of households that experienced credit card theft increased by 31% and the number that experienced multiple types during the same episode increased by 37%.
• During the 6-month period in 2008 for which identity theft victimization data was collected as part of the regular NCVS, 3.3% of households discovered that at least one member had been a victim of one or more types of identity theft.
• in 2007, 7.9 million households claimed at least one member who had been the victim of identity theft.

Part of the Identity Theft Series

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Sources for Preventing Identity Theft:

We were asked by a requestor to provide reliable sources of information regarding fraud, computer crimes and privacy theft. This is the list we came up with. Please feel free to add additional sources. Please see http://crimeinamerica.net/category/cybercrime/ for the latest data on these crimes.

Crime in America.Net staff

 http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17-it.htm

•  Great and short overview of privacy and theft issues

 http://www.ftc.gov/freereports

• Get your free annual credit report from Equifax, TransUnion and Experian
• Spread them out over the year so you receive one every 4 months

https://www.optoutprescreen.com

• Opt Out of Credit Card Offers under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

 https://www.donotcall.gov/

•  The Do Not Call Registry

https://www.dmachoice.org

• Direct Marketing Mail Preference Service; Have your name and address removed from the phone book and reverse directories. Opt-out of the sale or sharing of your financial information when given the opportunity by your bank, credit card companies, insurance companies, and investment firms.

Good sources for checking out e-mail Hoaxes

•  http://www.snopes.com/
• http://www.hoax-slayer.com/
• http://www.truthorfiction.com