How-to books teach foolproof methods of wangling financial information out of bank employees. The techniques are becoming more complex and refined,'' Robert Douglas, a privacy consultant based in Alexandria, Va., testified at a hearing of the House Banking Committee. Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the United States, ensnaring some 500,000 people a year, the government estimates. The cruder methods, such as digging through people's trash for credit card receipts or bank statements, have been largely supplanted by more technologically savvy techniques. In the most advanced cases, hackers have been able to penetrate big corporations' databases and download credit card numbers and other data.
Some perpetrators use telemarketing scams to trick consumers into revealing personal data.
An array of authentic-looking fake IDs, including Social Security cards, birth certificates and driver's licenses, are on sale online. While most victims of identity theft eventually recoup their lost money, the damage to their credit records and invasion of privacy can be terrible. Compounding the problem, according to law enforcement officials, is the growing presence in this country of organized crime groups, notably Russian and Nigerian, that engage in large-scale identity theft schemes affecting Americans. I fear every day that I won't be able to get this fixed and that I'll have bad credit for my whole life. It is easier than ever to get someone's name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, mother's maiden name and telephone number, often by buying it on the Web, experts say.