Imagine that you are trying to buy
your dream home. Your credit history is impeccable,
but your bank rejects you for a new home loan because
of your poor credit score. You begin to receive notices
in the mail regarding defaults on loans you never applied
for and bounced checks you never wrote. You have fallen
victim to one of the fastest growing crimes in the United
States...identity theft.
Most people don't realize how widespread
identity theft has become. New statistics show that
identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United
States. According to a survey conducted by the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) almost ten million Americans
were victims of some type of identity theft within the
last year (http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/09/synovatereport.pdf),
which cost consumers, businesses, and financial institutions
a total of about fifty-three billion dollars. Even more alarming
is the fact that identity theft incidents have increased
nearly 80 percent from last year (http://www3.gartner.com/5_about/press_releases/pr21july2003a.jsp)
and are expected to reach critical levels in the next
two years.
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