Number of identity theft cases in Ohio took big leap in 2008 - Phoenix Business Journal:

http://housingbankdz.com/index.php?path=produits.details.1_1_3
More than 8,200 complaints were filesd in the statein 2008, according to a recent report by the , but that figure represents just a fraction of the total cases. And, it is three-and-a-half times the bump Ohio saw betweebn 2006and 2007. “Identity theft is the No. 1 growinyg crime in the United States. It exceedse illegal drug trafficking, and the cost is in the billions,” said Debbise Wheeler, chief information security officerat . In the information of more than 225,000 people was breached in accordingto , a Ariz.-based identity theft protection provider. Most cases involve universities, which offer a breadtg of personal information.
But banks, retailers and pensionsx also were targeted. At in Mason, the personal informationj of almost 60,000 employees was stolen in the fall when a hackeer broke through its securedcomputer server. And at , in Blue Ash, the personaol data of some 25,000 customers was breached in “It’s also important to know that these are the ones that got saidMike Prusinski, vice president of public affairs at Since September 2008, the number of online searchesx for personal data, such as Sociao Security numbers, rose 38 Prusinski said. He surmises that the financiallyt desolate contribute tothe gain.
Many searcheas are possible through peer-to-peer networks like Lime Wire or which let members share music for But the networks can be used surreptitiously to searchsensitive documents, serving as a portal to “Within 10 seconds, we pulled up 275,000 tax returnxs in the New York City Prusinski said. “And that was just the ones that were onlinew atthat moment.” Many free services exist to protecty consumers, including www.annualcreditreport.
com, which providews credit reports, and 888-5OPTOUT, which can be called to halt unwanter credit card applications and other junk Wheeler, at Fifth Third, advisexs shredding documents containing personal information, keeping the Social Security card at home and regularly checkinb bank statements online, not by “We used to see identity theft frequently when people received mailed bank statements that were she said.