Crime is turning from a blue-collar to a white-collar profession. Rather than taking out guns and robbing convenience stores, criminals are performing “virtual robberies” where they use computer technology to steal a person’s identity. From a criminal perspective, these crimes are simple to commit, they carry lighter sentences and they can be more lucrative than armed robberies. As a result, identity theft has become more common. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 9.9 million U.S. residents were victims of identify theft in 2003.
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Consumer Alert: Identity Theft on the Rise
Posted by: Paul Korzeniowski June 19, 2004 01:30 AMCrime is turning from a blue-collar to a white-collar profession. Rather than taking out guns and robbing convenience stores, criminals are performing “virtual robberies” where they use computer technology to steal a person’s identity. From a criminal perspective, these crimes are simple to commit, they carry lighter sentences and they can be more lucrative than armed robberies. As a result, identity theft has become more common. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 9.9 million U.S. residents were victims of identify theft in 2003.