Internet Identity Theft Still at Large

Identity Theft is out of control

In 2007 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received well over 810,000 Consumer Sentinel complaints. Out of all of the type of complaints, Identity Theft tops the list. It is at an all time high as you could only imagine or particularly know this if you are a victim yourself. . The dirty tactics of people stealing your identity is very similar to sending out spam emails asking for personal information. Recently we wrote about a Man in Tokyo Japan was arrested for sending out billions of spam emails. Theft is out there, it is whether we choose to adhere to it and take action to protect ourselves.

Out of the total number of consumers that fell victim to identity theft, it is estimated that they lost around $1.2 billion where the median loss was about $349 per person. That is much more than most people are willing to live with. With the slumping economy many people cannot afford to have any monetary loss due to identity theft.

Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) List of Top Consumer Fraud Complaints in 2007 - ftc.gov

What can you do to guard yourself?

Never give out your personal information to an unknown source. If you are unsure of an email or source it is always a good practice to contact the company or source directly before sending private information. Utilize spam filters and the free protection services that your Internet Service Provider offers to you as a customer.

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