Learn how to protect your computer, its contents, and ultimately your identity.

CURRENT VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT STATISTICS:
19,178 per day, 799 per hour, 13.3 per minute

Many advantages and even more disadvantages exist with advancement in computer technology. Identity theft, the number one crime in the world today, is only being fueled by technology. As more people become enchanted and dependant upon computers to hold and serve their personal data, more become victims of identity theft every day. Aided by an era of easy credit, this crime feeds on the lack of knowledge by consumers to control who has access to sensitive information and how to safeguard it.

• Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that complaints of identity theft increased 87 percent between 2001 and 2002, and over 161,000 complaints were received by the agency last year
• Fifty-seven million U.S. adults think they have received a phishing e-mail. More than 1.4 million users have suffered from identity theft fraud, costing banks and card issuers $1.2 billion in direct losses in the past year
• The U.S. Secret Service has estimated that consumers nationwide lose $745 million to identity theft each year
• According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the average victim spends 607 hours to clear his or her credit records
• The Federal Trade Commission estimates that identity theft costs the average victim $1,000.