Identity Theft

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• Federal Trade Commission: Identity Theft   - The U.S. government's central website for information about identity theft.
• Identity Theft Resource Center   - Features detailed guides for victims, current laws, media resources, and reference library.

• California Department of Justice: Identity Theft - Features state lwas, tips for victims, and ID theft registry for the state.
• Call For Action: Identity Theft - Features warning signs, preventative measures, and victim information and resources.
• Federal Reserve Bank of Boston: Identity Theft - Brochure in html and pdf formats.
• Financial Privacy Now - Campaign to strengthen financial privacy protections for consumers to keep credit safe and prevent crimes like identity theft. Targets the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Project of Consumers Union.
• Identity Theft & Driver License Fraud Information - Includes a video, forms, and resources for victims of the crime. From the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
• Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act - Full text of the United States national identity theft law.
• Identity Theft and Identity Fraud - Features programs, prevention, and remedial steps after the crime. From the United States Department of Justice.
• Identity Theft: Fact and fiction - This article discusses the growth and impact of identity theft, and how society should respond to its challenges.
• Identity Theft Is A Crime - Offered by the United States government, the site details the work of the President's ID Theft Task Force, victims' rights, and identifies what steps government agencies are taking to combat identity theft issues.
• Identity Theft Program - At Michigan State University. Victim advocacy, investigations, research, partners with businesses to prevent identity theft inside.
• Identity Theft Resources - Articles and related links on what to do if you are a victim of identity theft. From Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
• Identity Theft Security - Empowering consumers with tips, resources, and tools to prevent becoming victims of identity theft.
• Invasion of the ID Snatchers - Online booklet from the National Consumers League.
• National Conference of State Legislatures: Identity Theft - Features current statutes, pending legislation, and publications.
• NPR : ID Thieves Target Children, Infants - Even the youngest among us can be victims of identity theft. Seattle Times reporter Jolayne Houtz explains how, and why. John Brooke, a Seattle-area man, describes how his newborn became a target. [2:44 streaming audio broadcast]
• Office of Privacy Protection: Identity Theft - Consumer information from this California state government agency. Some information also in Spanish.
• PhoneBusters: Identity Theft - Includes victim information, a list of scams, statistics on the crime, and prevention tips.
• The Privacy Commissioner of Canada: Identity Theft - Identifies the problem and offers tips on prevention and what to do if it occurs.
• Public Advisory: Special Report for Consumers on Identity Theft - Tips and reports from the Solicitor General of Canada.
• RCMP Frauds and Scams: Identity Theft - Tips from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
• The Secret Life of Your Social Security Number - Article by Aleksandra Todorova. "With Social Security-number (SSN)-only theft, oftentimes abusers have no intent of stealing anybody's good credit. They simply want the number so they can work and establish their own lines of credit — in their own name. In essence, two separate identities are created from one Social Security number."
• Social Security Administration: Identity Theft - Publication with tips and contact.
• Stop! Thief! - Article by Aleksandra Todorova. Steps to restoring your good name after becoming a victim of identity theft.
• Texas Attorney General: Identity Theft - Prevention tips and victim information.
• 14 Tips to Avoid Identity Theft - Suggestions from Frank Abagnale on reducing one's risk of identity theft.
• U.S. Postal Inspection Services: Identity Theft - Features tips and brochures for prevention and for victims of the crime.
• Walletpop: Identity Theft - Features the facts on identity theft and how to keep yourself from being victimized.
• When a Criminal's Cover Is Your Identity - Tips for prevention of identity theft. From the FDIC.

• Knowledge@Wharton - Do You Know Where Your Identity Is? Personal Data Theft Eludes Easy Remedies - [Free registration required to view.] Stopping identity theft is a very complicated proposition. Here are some steps that are probably required to positively impact the privacy of personal data. (April, 2005)
• NPR : Congress Aims to Combat Identity Theft - In the wake of recent scandals involving data collection companies like ChoicePoint and LexisNexis, Congress has begun pushing for greater personal identity safeguards. [3:12 streaming audio broadcast] (March 14, 2005)
• NPR : Fighting Identity Theft - Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, discusses the recent spate of security breaches at consumer data banks. Computer hackers accessed consumer data at ChoicePoint and Lexis-Nexis. [4:20 streaming audio broadcast] (March 14, 2005)
• NPR : Identity Theft in the International Arena - NPR's Eric Weiner reports on European efforts to prevent the theft of sensitive personal data compiled by information collection companies. [4:33 streaming audio broadcast] (March 14, 2005)
• NPR : Safeguarding the Data Brokerage Industry, Part I - The data brokerage industry has come under intense scrutiny with the disclosure of two high-profile identity theft cases. NPR's Farai Chideya has a special report. [11:46 streaming audio broadcast] (March 14, 2005)
• NPR : Safeguarding the Data Brokerage Industry, Part II - For a closer look at data brokers and what can be done to safeguard the industry from future fraud, NPR's Ed Gordon is joined by Robert O'Harrow Junior, a staff writer at The Washington Post and author of "No Place to Hide: Behind the Scenes of Our Emerging Surveillance Society," and Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D), who has championed legislation that would give the Federal Trade Commission more oversight over the data brokerage industry. [7:55 streaming audio broadcast] (March 14, 2005)
• NPR : Information Companies and Identity Theft - Recent data theft from information companies prompted hearings on Capitol Hill. Gail Hillebrand of Consumers Union tells Jacki Lyden what sort of personal data information companies such as Choicepoint and Lexis/Nexis collect -- and how they use it. [3:15 streaming audio broadcast] (March 12, 2005)
• NPR : Senate Mulls Measures to Combat Identity Theft - The Senate Banking Committee considers possible regulations to battle the growing problem of identity theft. The most recent Federal Trade Commission survey found that 10 million Americans were the victims of some type of identity theft in one year. [3:40 streaming audio broadcast] (March 11, 2005)
• Smartmoney.com: Identity Thieves Employ High-Tech Tactics - Five of the latest high-tech forms of identity theft along with ways consumers can protect themselves. (March 7, 2005)
• Smartmoney.com: Consumer Action: Your SS Number Is Just a Click Away - Long article expresses concerns that various county clerks are publishing their residents' personal documents online. Many examples of public figures' data that can be found are given. (March 3, 2005)
• NPR : Experts Urge Consumers to Act Against Identity Theft - Georgia-based ChoicePoint Inc. is sending out letters to warn consumers their personal information has been stolen. But law enforcement officials say many more people need to be on guard for possible identity theft, after crooks got unauthorized access to information in ChoicePoint's databases. [3:37 streaming audio broadcast] (February 24, 2005)
• NPR : Protecting Yourself Against Identity Theft - NPR's Madeleine Brand speaks with Gail Hillebrand about identity theft protection. Hillebrand is senior attorney for the Consumers Union, an independent, nonprofit testing and information organization. [3:52 streaming audio broadcast] (February 22, 2005)
• NPR : ChoicePoint Security Breach - The consumer data company ChoicePoint says a security breach last week will affect more than 140,000 people in all 50 states. The company is sending notices to individuals whose personal and financial details were accessed by thieves posing as businessmen. [2:40 streaming audio broadcast] (February 21, 2005)
• NPR Talk of the Nation: How to Avoid Identity Theft - How to protect your identity. [37:28 streaming audio broadcast] (February 21, 2005)
• NPR : Tips on Avoiding Identity Theft - Michele Norris talks with Evan Hendricks, editor and publisher of Privacy Times and author of "Credit Scores and Credit Reports," about why people should be concerned about identity theft and what they can do to avoid it. [5:15 streaming audio broadcast] (February 16, 2005)
• NPR : Tips to Avoid Internet Identity Theft, E-Mail Scams - Criminals around the world are discovering tools that let them spy on hundreds of thousands of people over the Internet, and they're stealing credit card numbers, bank account passwords, and other sensitive information. NPR's Chris Arnold reports. [5:20 streaming audio broadcast] (August 11, 2004)