Identity Theft: The Nightmare Begins

Identity theft is a crime that leaves it's victims feeling violated and it sometimes leaves them penniless. Often at first, the victim may be unaware that a theft has even taken place. For instance, if someone steals your credit card information, you may not even know about it until your statement comes in the mail. So what just happened? One, someone may have been using your credit cards anywhere from two hours to fourteen days before you even know about it. By this time, they are usually long gone; it's a hit and run game. Two, because you didn't know, you didn't report the information stolen and, as a result, the credit card companies may be reluctant to take the charges off of your account. If they are willing, they will certainly require massive amounts of documentation. Either way, it can become quite a nightmare.

Back in the olden days, there were stolen car rings, armed robbery partners, and more recently, drug dealing gangs. While all of this still goes on, it is now all about identity theft. It is such a lucrative business and it is often difficult to prove and almost impossible to stop. Some of these rings are so organized that they make millions of dollars without detection. It is becoming increasingly more common for the news to be filled with reports of white collar crimes, which is much less labor intensive and exponetially more lucrative than the usual street crime.

Although it still can happen, stealing some one's wallet or purse is so passe' these days. It is much more comfortable for the thief to steal from the comfort of his own home over the internet.  Some people are so technologically talented that it is literally like taking candy from a baby. Unfortunately, it can also leave you with about as much money as you had when you came into the world. Identity theft can not only devastate the individual whose identity was stolen, but it can also leave in it's wake countless victims that accepted the identity and information unaware that it had been stolen. The full extent of it's impact on crime and society is, of yet, unknown. Protecting yourself from identity theft is very important, it can mean the difference between security and peace of mind or endless debt and stress.