Online Identity Theft Really Not Such A Big Problem?
from the relax-people... dept
For years, we've been reading all of these stories and reports about how the internet has become a huge source of identity theft scams. However, a new study disputes those reports, claiming identity theft really isn't that common and when it does happen, it's usually not the online kind. Instead, identity theft is most common in cases where someone loses a wallet or a checkbook. The study also notes that those who manage their various accounts online are much more likely to notice unusual activity and stop an identity thief before he gets too far. Somewhat reassuring, but you have to wonder exactly how "identity theft" was defined in this study, because it can take on a variety of different forms. In some sense, of course, simple phishing scams could be counted as identity theft crimes, which would probably boost the number quite a bit.
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