Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America, affecting approximately 15 million consumers per year, or one new victim every two seconds. Armed with personal information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, names and addresses, identity thieves can drain their victim’s bank accounts and commit fraud in their name. The latest forms of this crime have expanded to medical, child and social networking identity theft. With the ever-increasing amount of consumer data that is available on the Internet, it’s becoming easier for cyber criminals to piece together the elements they need in order to steal someone’s identity. In the current economic downturn, more and more instances of credit fraud and data theft are being reported across the country, and unfortunately no one is immune. Fortunately, there are some simple and immediate steps that consumers can take to proactively protect themselves from identity theft.

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