With the public emergence and worldwide explosion of the internet, Identity theft has become one of the most rapidly increasing crimes. What was once a personal crime requiring criminals to have some form of contact with the victim, if nothing more than rummaging through the trash, can now be done from as close as next door or as far away as across the world. No one is exempt from the possibility that they could be a victim. Identity theft has advanced so rapidly that government and law enforcement agencies have not been able to keep up with new legislature. Many states still do not view Identity theft as a crime. It is the victim who has to prove fraud exists. The judicial system that currently exists in this country states that any one accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty. This is not the case with Identity theft. These people are considered guilty until such time as they can prove their innocence.
             Identity theft involves acquiring key pieces of someone's identifying information in order to impersonate them and commit various crimes in that person's name. Besides basic information like name, address and telephone number, identity thieves look for social security numbers, driver's license numbers, credit card and/or bank account numbers, as well as bank cards, telephone calling cards, birth certificates or passports. This information enables the identity thief to commit numerous forms of fraud: to go on spending sprees under the victim's name, to take over the victim's financial accounts, open new accounts, divert the victim's financial mail to the thief's address, apply for loans, credit cards, social benefits, rent apartments, establish services with utility companies, and more.
             An example of Identity Fraud could consist of the selling of your name, address, Social Security number and other identifying information, including driver's license number, ATM number and other key pieces of an individual's identi...