The fascinating results centered around the disparity of the impact of identity theft on the sexes. Women are 26% more likely to experience identity theft than men. Women are also more harder hit when they fall victim. And, no surprise, women are more concerned about identity theft.
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Credit card fraud is the most common type of identity crime. Although, not every thing is in your control, there are a few things you could do to prevent and manage debit or credit card fraud. Here are a few examples:

Keep track of your wallet - very few people are aware of the contents in their wallets. This may include debit or credit cards they carry in their wallet or purse, other personal information such as a Personal Identification Number (PIN) written on a piece of paper or a social security card. Always take an inventory of what you carry with you. List the inventory related information such as the type of the card, its number, etc. and keep it in a safe place. This will make sure you can report and recover your lost item in a timely manner, while, limiting credit card fraud damage.

Use your wallet carefully - Every time you take your wallet out of your pocket or purse to pay for a purchase, you may expose other confidential information to people around or behind you in line such as a driver's license information including your name, address, date of birth, and driver's license number. Use it less frequently and discretely as it may include many valuable personal information, which may be exposed to theft, loss and privacy risks.
Don't carry them all at the same time - you probably don't need all your cards with you at all times. The less you carry with you, the less exposed you will be to credit card fraud. Go through the contents of your wallet and purse periodically and ask yourself, do I need really need all these cards with me?

Store them in a safe place - if you answered "no" to the question above, then you need to have a fireproof safe box in your home or office to store all those cards when you don't carry them with you.

Notify banks and close the accounts - upon discovery that your credit cards have been lost or stolen, notify the banks immediately and ask to close your accounts to avoid credit card fraud.

Cancel your lost cards even if you recover them - If the privacy of your credit or debit card is compromised, meaning, the card number becomes known to criminals, you are at credit card fraud risk even if you recover and physically possess the cards.

Don't get too many credit cards - this is good for a few reasons; first, it's good for your credit, second, to get a credit card, you have to share your personal information with a bank, and in my opinion, the less you share your information with others, the more secure your identity will be, and third, you are less likely to lose what you don't have, therefore, reducing your chance of facing a credit card fraud. These are all good reasons, especially if you don't have to have another credit card.

Don't use your debit card for purchases - during your next purchase, when the smiling cashier asks you whether you would like to use your ATM card as a debit or credit, say "CREDIT". If you use your card as a credit card, you don't have to use and reveal you Personal Identification Number also known as PIN, and that in my opinion, is what I call eliminating unnecessary risks.

Don't keep your PINs and cards together - always keep them separate. That way, if you lose your card, getting cash would be difficult for the thieves without the PIN which otherwise would be a very easy debit or credit card fraud. On the other hand, writing the PIN or any other passwords or pass phrases in an encrypted or coded manner like a self-developed code is a good idea, because they will not be useful to criminals if you lose them. I personally keep my passwords and PINs in an encrypted manner which I have developed for my own use.

Shred your credit card statements - After you get your monthly credit card statements, if you decide to discard them instead of filing them in a secure location, then use a shredder to discard them. Your credit card statements include many personal information that need to be protected, even after you decide you have no need for them. This idea should not be limited to just credit card statements but also to all other statements with personal information received from other financial institutions. I personally keep my last 3 statements in a secure and organized location, replacing them constantly with the new ones I get every month. To detect credit card fraud, know your statement cycles and follow-up any time you don't get them on time.
Use only cash whenever you can - well, this is no brainer. By using cash, you exchange no personal information in the course of your shopping transactions, unless of course when you decide to complete a survey. In my opinion, less personal information you share with others, less exposed you are to identity theft risks.

Use fraud alerts to prevent identity theft - placing fraud alerts on credit reports is a good way to reduce the risk of identity theft. Learn about the types of fraud alerts, how they work and how you can use them in your advantage.

Consider hard core credit freeze - the only way you can stop the sharing of your credit reports without your authorization with third parties is by placing credit or security freeze on your credit reports. And without a credit report, it will be hard to commit a credit card fraud.

Check your credit reports regularly - monitor your credit report on a periodic basis, preferably every 3 months. This will help you detect any unusual or unauthorized transactions on a timely basis. Statistics point out that most identity theft crimes go undetected for 6 months. You need to be proactive for detecting this crime, although, you may be contacted by the credit card company about unusual transactions not characteristic of your shopping habits.

inquire about the privacy and disclosure policies - I have previously pointed out that sharing less personal information with others is a preventive control against identity theft; however, if and when you do decide to share because of legitimate and needed business transaction, beware of the company's privacy and security policies and measures. The policies will tell you how the company intends to use your information and whether they will share your information with others, how often, and in what format. Sometimes, the companies share the collected personal information with other affiliated entities. Therefore, based on their policies, you may even decide not to do business with that company if you feel uncomfortable with what the company intends to do with your information which may lead to credit card fraud.

The Gazette
Kirkwood Community College officials are providing a year of credit monitoring to 1,600 people and businesses after a mobile data device containing Social Security numbers was taken from an Iowa City work force office June 4,

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Ever resourceful in continuing to extend the reach of theircriminal activities, the newest threat now comes from textmessaging by identity thieves.This alert to our subscribers is part of our continued scanningof the world's latest fraud developments and represents a majornew identity theft scam technique to use both speed and confusionto compromise consumer safety.Here's what happened.

Identity theft criminals, in Colorado where first reported,send out fake text messages to the cell phones of unsuspectingpotential victims. The messages ask for information about therecipient's debit or credit cards.The text asks people to call a 1-877 number to find out whytheir card was suspended. To reactivate the card, the caller istold to enter in the card number, expiration date and PIN code.By calling the listed phone number and providing the confidentialinformation requested by the fraudulent criminal, the consumeressentially is handing over their bank account access privileges.Armed with that confidential access information, the identity theftfraudster can very quickly clean out the victim's debit account orrun up a massive amount of fraudulent transactions on their creditcard in less than a day.Key note, unlike credit cards, debit cards are directly hot linked toyour bank checking or savings accounts which are much harder torecover lost funds from - especially if you do not catch the criminalactivity within the first week of it happening.

So, our tip for today is to guard well your providing anyconfidential access information to an authorized party viatext messaging. Additionally, unless you have specificallyenrolled in your bank or credit card company's fraudmonitoring alerts service, do not respond to these fakeattempts by identity theft criminals determined to ruinyour financial future.
PS: Tell a friend or associate you know of residing in theDenver, CO area of this important new development inidentity theft to contact their local police departmentimmediately. Finally, make to check back frequentlyfor our free, anonymous tips to help you reduce yourpotential for identity theft

Identity theft, the biggest source of U.S. consumer fraud, costs a record $56.6 billion in cash, goods, and services. Two thirds of victims have no out-of-pocket expense (because banks and credit card companies seldom ask victims to cover any charges), for about 3 million victims, the average cost of repairing their credit was nearly $1,200 and for all victims the average time to set the record straight was 40 hours.
Fortunately, ID theft is declining after cases reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) nearly tripled from 2001 through 2004, the number of identity fraud victims in the United States was 8.1 million in 2007, a 3.6 percent decrease from the 8.4 million in 2006 and a 9.0 percent decrease from 2005 according to Javelin Strategy & Research. Awareness by consumers and creditors coupled with technological safeguards has helped curb cases of identity theft.
The most frequent source of information for ID thieves is you according to the Javelin survey, among victims who knew how their numbers were pilfered, 30 percent of frauds began with a lost or stolen wallet, checkbook, or credit card. So don't carry PIN codes for your plastic or your Social Security card. One in seven cases of ID theft traced to a source turns up a family member or other trusted associate the victim. Keep your checkbook, credit cards, and any important papers (such as mortgage, insurance, and investment records) under lock and key. Javelin found, frauds first noticed by victims were uncovered a month sooner than those financial institutions identified. Regularly checking credit card and bank statements, it's good to scan your credit history for inquiries on existing accounts and applications for new loans. You can get one free credit history annually from each of the three major bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) at www.annualcreditreport.com. By rotating your requests, you can receive a report every four months.
Households earning less than $50,000 are three times more likely to be victimized by fraud according to Javelin Strategy & Research. According to Frost & Sullivan, the amount of credit card fraud is projected to reach $15.5 billion, up from $7.5 billion in 2007. Deloitte says that 51 percent of external attacks on financial institutions were phishing followed by spyware at 48 percent. Recent laws in eight states let you freeze access to your credit file to keep anyone, legit or not from reviewing your standing or opening loans in your name. Freezes that used to be applied by credit bureaus only after ID thieves struck are available free by law to any citizen in Colorado and New Jersey. Consumers in California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, and North Carolina can stop credit tampering cold for a small fee, generally up to $10. And for another $5 or $10 the same eight states allow a credit thaw when you need a new loan. Freezes are also available by law to ID-theft victims in Illinois, Texas, Vermont, and Washington.
You should shred anything bearing sensitive information into a crosscut (or "confetti") shredder. This makes it virtually impossible for garbage divers to read your data or use credit card "convenience checks" and new offers. To make sure mail isn't diverted before it reaches the shredder, get your letters delivered to a secure location. A street-side mailbox is easily accessible by thieves. Police say these boxes are favored targets of ID thieves looking for checks to steal. A mail slot into the house is better and if this is not possible, consider renting a box at the local post office.
Spend less time sorting and shredding by opting out of solicitations for new credit cards, mortgages, or other loans. To eliminate future trash at its source, call the credit bureaus' dedicated line at 888.567.8688 from your home telephone or register at www.optoutprescreen.com. If you call, an automated voice-response system will request your name, telephone number, and Social Security number; don't worry, the credit bureau has it already as part of your credit history. You can opt out for five years or forever. (And if you haven't done so already, by all means register your phone numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry maintained by the FTC at 888.382.1222 or www.donotcall.gov. Unless they're from charities, political groups, surveys, or companies with which you have ties, telemarketers are barred from calling registered numbers. So you'll know any call you do get is suspect.)
All it takes to empty your bank account is a signed check and a pan of acetone, the active ingredient in nail polish remover. The identity thief crook tapes over your signature front and back, and then soaks the check in acetone to wash away everything but the printer's ink and your signature. He then dries the check and carefully peels off the tape resulting in a blank check signed by you. In addition, thanks to "bounce protection" from banks, the scamster can even overdraw your account. You should use a uni-ball gel pen, the only one that resists washing. You can also use tamperproof checks. And keep phone numbers off your printed checks can also say less. them altogether. Order checks from your bank, not from independent vendors, and seek out security features such as paper that acetone stains.
Every home computer should have security virus, spyware and adware software that is updated regularly. You should be aware and resist the bait from con artists "phishing" for your private information via email. The unseen danger comes from "spyware," which sneaks onto your computer to track your actions online. One kind, known as adware, merely gauges your interests to help websites predict what advertising might grab your attention. A more sinister sort of spyware monitors your every keystroke and reports back to a waiting attacker. Spyware infiltrates your computer by hiding inside a downloaded program or by an email you open or Web link you click on. I recommend Ad-Aware, itself a free download, but one you can trust.
You can also get a second (and sometimes third) free email account from MSN's Hotmail, Yahoo!'s Mail, or Google's Gmail so you can segregate your online shopping from banking and private correspondence and don't use your name or a familiar word as part of any address. Scramble some letters and numbers instead. These measures will make it a lot harder for phishers to find you by chance and lure you to scam websites. To reduce the hazard posed by a pirated cash card, call your bank and request a per-day limit on ATM withdrawals from your accounts.

Mortgage lenders often rely on deceptive advertising to attract subprime borrowers with weak credit histories were able to find clients though a legal but increasingly controversial process of public-record sifting.
Companies referred to as "aggregators" sift through public land records at county and city courthouses, and amass loan information for others that are trying to find consumers who are in bankruptcy, those with home loans and those looking to refinance homes.
These aggregators are getting ready to pounce on adjustable-rate subprime loans issued in 2005 and 2006 whose rates will begin resetting to higher monthly charges late this year.
Information provided by data aggregators forms the base for deceptive ads armed with loan details, unscrupulous mortgage lenders target low-income homeowners with ads that look as if they were issued by the federal government offering benefits under the Community Reinvestment Act. Others use official-looking seals with eagles.
Federal law requires that lenders must, in exchange for access to consumers' loan information, follow through with firm offers of credit. Some lenders often use the information for simple solicitation of business without defining amounts and rates.

Individuals that rent an apartment from a landlord are required to obtain certain personal information from the potential tenant.
The potential renter should look at a few guidelines to keep their personal information safe, the landlord only wants to make sure that a person is solvent, honest, and likely to get along with them and the neighbors.
Make sure the landlord follows the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 or the FACT Act, and they must keep the information in a locked cabinet, dispose of the information when they no longer need it, establish a system for purging their files, and use an effective method to destroy personal data.
Another thing to do is talk to current tenants about what it's like to do business with this owner, and look around the office if other applicants' credit reports are strewn around, find another apartment complex.