Ok, you've been to all the info sites telling you how to protect yourself from identity thieves. You may have been to the FTC site and seen that they encourage the Deter, Detect, Defend strategy.

Well I'm here to tell you what needs to be added to this plethora of defensive maneuvers. AN ATTACK PLAN!

If we have good citizens on constant alert for fraud, who actively misguide, confuse, and discourage the id thieves themselves. Then a lot less diligence would be required of innocent folks just trying to enjoy life.

Become part of the solution.
Join the Antiscammer Network.

10/23/06 - Have you got a good attorney? You will need one if you take a job as a 'Money mule'. Stolen credit card and bank account information is not very useful to thieves if they can't get thier hands on the money. So they advertise work-at-home jobs to snooker ordinary folks into laundering the stolen money. This how your money actually disappears after your personal information is discovered. If we can make it impossible to find money mules, we can make it very difficult for the thieves to drive folks into bankruptcy.

10/19/06 - Have you got a good attorney? You might need one when you get hit by an id thief. These guys want to drive you into bankruptcy or put a heavy debt on your back to support their bad habits. Well instead of searching for an attorney now, join the network and start fighting that debt before it even arrives. Then it won't be you who is bankrupt. It'll be the guy at the other end of the line.

10/16/06 - Jim Rapoza over at eweek.com writes some great articles on techie stuff. He often has something interesting to say about computer security and anonymity. Give him a read. They also have a good article about a Russian crime ring that exploits an Internet Explorer bug to steal your personal info.
Speaking of which, the Russians have been visiting this site lately.
Welcom Ruski Komrads!

10/9/06 - It's all over the media: Identity theft by scam artists is something that no one can do anything about. The police can't fight it and all an individual can do is try to keep their personal info hidden.
BOLOGNA!
You can join in the fun! Take the tutorial now!

10/6/06 - It was as if someone had slapped him smack in the face. The stunned businessman looked with eyes wide open at the bank officer. "It’s not me," he cried, recovering his composure. The officer told him that police records showed he was a convict. In fact, he was told, he had served seven years in jail. Someone had stolen his identity, been arrested for a crime and served a jail term. Now, he had been blacklisted by banks.

A trader and his fiancee went to the civil registry to apply for their marriage to be registered. They were told he was already married. He was shocked. His fiancee and her family walked out. Someone had stolen his identity and got married using his name.

10/3/06 - "Identity theft right now is the number one white collar crime in the world. One out of four households have already been affected by it." That's according to Jackie Carter, who works as an identity theft risk management specialist. North Carolina has just instituted two new laws that require government agencies to tell consumers when their information has been lost or stolen, and limit how businesses can use Social Security numbers. Every little bit helps.
Are you doing your part?

9/29/06 - The big news today: Terrorist leaders are trying to recruit more scientists. Especially nuclear scientists and explosives experts. In your auto-emailer, maybe you should mention that you are a professor of nuclear engineering.

9/19/06 - Advanced Technology Systems, Inc., an IT company, today announced it is one of eight key partners on Lockheed Martin's team competing to deliver a Secure Border Initiative (SBInet) solution to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The SBInet program is a comprehensive multi-year plan to secure America's 6000 miles of borders.

9/15/06 - Did you know that computer data breaches are not the main id theft threat? Nope, most folks have their identity abused because of a lost or stolen wallet.

What's in YOUR wallet?

9/14/06 - Well the Florida police are taking some good action to prepare for id theft complaints. They are sending out 40,000 info packets to their forces, telling them how to handle this excellerating problem. That includes a training video. It's a good start. Nice work, Florida!

According to the Secret Service, identity thieves have various reasons to engage in these types of crimes. Among them are personal gain, to buy goods and services; financial gain, to bankroll other criminal activities, such as drugs and weapons trafficking or terrorism; and help in moving anonymously through society for any number of reasons.