The history of identity theft is relatively new, but growing exponentially each year.

This crime is being highlighted more often by news stories as a result of the growing number of incidence being reported by victims.

With the advent of new technology, thieves are becoming more of prevalent throughout the country and across the globe.

Before the advent of computerization and the prevalence of the Internet, stealing a person's identification consisted of physically robbing him of his social security card or passport etc. It was much more difficult and more time consuming.

Banking transactions like obtaining credit cards/loans required an application along with photographic identification to be presented in person. In many cases the lending bank manager had to vouch for personally knowing the borrower. This created a more stable barrier and resulted in less incidence of identity theft.

With the advancement in computer technology and the Internet from the 1980s, this began the start of the history of identity theft, as we think of it today.

Online banking provided customers a way to obtain credit on the basis of credit reports, which could be available and transmitted online.

Consumer credit history reports started being used more often to help lenders make credit decisions. There reports contain a lot of financial, personal and private information of a sensitive nature - now readily available for consumers to download instantly.

Other transactions like obtaining mortgages, opening new bank accounts, making purchases also could be done online. This created a situation where anyone having personal information about another person could fake his identity to make fraudulent purchases, obtain credit or indulge in other unlawful activities posing as the 'real' person, without being physically identified in many cases.

Due to all of the above 'advances', high tech cyber crime has grown rapidly. Online theft of consumer's identities has increased in alarming proportions to other crime, and finally the government has been forced to create a deterrent.

The legislature made this crime punishable by fine and imprisonment through the enactment of The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act 1998

A look at history of identity theft statistics can scare you. It is now by far the fastest growing crime in the United States and is committed every seventy-nine seconds.

Records of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) pertaining to 2005 mention identity theft as the highest consumer complaint for the fifth consecutive year. Of the 686,683 different consumer complaints filed that year, 255,565 were ID theft related affecting nearly eleven million people.

Identity theft is used for committing various types of frauds. Percentage wise they stack up according:

• 26% - Credit card fraud - relating to fraudulent activity using credit cards
• 18% - Phone/ utilities fraud, where the fraudster opens utility or phone accounts in the victim's name or makes charges on the victim's existing accounts
• 17% - Bank fraud - here the illegal activities are related to banking transactions.
• 12% - Employment related fraud - where the thief engages in employment posing as another person
• 5% - Loan fraud - the thief manages to obtain loans in the victim's name which is he never pays back
• 9% - Government documents or benefits fraud - these frauds involve some type of government document or benefit such as social security, fraudulent income tax return or drivers license etc.

Other types of ID thefts - This category consists of ID theft types not covered by the above and includes evasion from law enforcing agencies, bankruptcy, theft of medical identity, etc.

Victims of ID theft fall under different age categories. 5% of victims are younger than 18 years.

It is revealed through the history of identity theft that the largest number of victims is from the 18 to 29 year age group, which constitutes about 29% of the total victims.

Next are people in the age group of 30 to 39 year who account for 24% followed by people aged between 40 to 49 years who make up another 20%.

13% are aged between 50 to 59 years and another 3% are from the 60 to 64 age group. Nearly 6% of the victims are 65 years or above.

A recent history of identity theft inquiry shows FTC data which places identity theft at the top of the consumer complaint list for the seventh consecutive year. 36% of all consumer complaints reported in 2006 relate to identity theft.

» Identity Theft Articles - Key Points To Remember
The are many identity theft articles now available to readers online. Review our series of articles on the subject of identity theft at www.debt-to-income.com.

» Identity Theft Awareness - Prevention Is Truly The Key
Identity theft awareness is not as well known as you might think. Despite the growing number of cases, most people still know very little about how to protect themselves from becoming a victim.

» Identity Theft Banking Losses - Banks Can Bank On Losses
Identity theft banking losses account for millions in losses each and every year. The cost of doing business has gone up substantially for banks since identity theft has been on the rise.

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