Since the 1970s the bureaus have expanded into every area of personal information. These are designed to place blame anywhere but where it belongs. Thus it is that many privacy and fraud prevention sites you see on the internet are, in fact, representing the interests of business against the interests of the people. As the year 2000 approaches citizens are once again demanding action and the bureaus are gearing up for a massive fight. Identity theft is the darling of privacy invaders not because they truly believe identity theft is so hideous, but because it deflects criticism away from those who abuse personal data in the business world.
Identity theft is the perfect foil for legitimate reform in the data collection industry.
In identity theft the bad guys are usually individuals, not corporations. It sells more reports at highly inflated prices to consumers who are terrified their very souls are being stolen by the kid down the block. The unrestricted collection and sale of personal data is and that is where our attention should be directed. This type of help we can do without.