Getting to Know Identity Thieves

Two-thirds of the identity thieves were male. Twenty-four percent of the offenders were born outside of the United States, and 71 percent had no arrest history.

It's also important to know how this crime is committed. In 274 of the Secret Service cases, the center was able to pinpoint how the thief obtained a person's information. A business -- service, retail, financial industry or a corporation -- was the point of compromise 50 percent of the time.

A company's database was the source of identity information in a third of the cases. In about 44 percent of the cases, information or documents were stolen from retail stores, car dealerships, gas stations, casinos, restaurants, hotels, hospitals and doctors' offices.

You still need to watch your peeps -- as in relatives and friends -- people you should be able to trust. A family member or friend was the thief in 16 percent of the 274 cases.

A third of the time, thieves got their information from financial organizations: banks, credit unions and credit card companies. The offenders then used the fraudulently obtained information to obtain new credit card accounts, to apply for and obtain fraudulent loans, to create fake checks, and to transfer funds.

According to the case analysis, there was a one-in-three chance that victimization was a result of the work of an insider.

What I learned from this report was this: You can't trust any business or anybody, even family members. Despite all the claims of privacy, encryption technology and security firewalls, you've got to be your own information bodyguard.

¿ On the air: Michelle Singletary discusses personal finance Tuesdays on NPR's "Day to Day" program and online athttp://www.npr.org.

¿ By mail: Readers can write to her at The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.

¿ By e-mail:singletarym@washpost.com.

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