The Hidden Dangers of Identity Theft

When most of us think about identity theft, we think about someone assuming debts in another person's name. While this is a huge problem, it isn't the only way identities are being used.

Illegal immigrants, criminals and even terrorists might be using stolen identities to commit a number of crimes. From obtaining a job and credit in someone else's name to ordering supplies to manufacture methamphetamine - identities are being stolen to facilitate a lot of illegal activities.

Although a little dated (2002), here is an extensive report from the GAO detailing the problem:

Identity Fraud - Prevalence and Links to Alien Illegal Activities

Even more scary - is the very real possibility that innocent people will be held accountable for other people's illegal activities.

With the record amounts of data breaches and identities being sold (routinely) over the Internet, the problem is continuing to get worse.

Here is a post, I did about why we are approaching the problem the wrong way:

Are We Addressing Cyber Crime from the Wrong End

Identity theft threatens our financial stability, privacy and national security and we can no longer afford to ignore that fact.