Today in the United States there is a crime that every citizen faces having committed against them and that is the crime of identity theft. Identity theft is the theft of one's personal identifying information such as one's name, address, date of birth, credit card numbers, bank information, and most of all social security number (National Insurance Crime Bureau, 2000). With the modernization of our world it has became easier for would be identity thieves to commit their crime. There are many basic steps that one can do to help prevent themselves from becoming a victim of identity theft.

Identity theft is a growing business in the United States. It is now the most common form of consumer fraud. Last year more than 750,000 Americans were victims of identity theft, including such well known celebrities as Oprah Winfry and Tiger Woods (Martin, 2002). According to the...