Every year millions of Americans are the victims of identity theft, and in a lawsuit filed against major credit card companies, identity theft victim Eric Drew claims that the credit industry is facilitating the crimes. By attempting to maximize profits by fully automating their identity verification systems, credit card companies such as Bank of America, Citibank and Chase are knowingly fostering rampant fraud and forcing their customers to deal with the results of their irresponsible credit card issuing practices.

Identity theft ringleader gets 4 years in prison

A French national has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for heading an identity theft ring that enlisted restaurant servers to swipe information from customers’ credit cards in Southern California.

Will the recession boost identity theft?

The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday it will give businesses an extra six months to comply with its “Red Flags Rule,” which is supposed to prevent identity thieves from using your information to open accounts or get access to accounts. The deadline was November 1, but now it’s been pushed to May 1, 2009.

ID Theft Suspect Takes Plea Deal

A woman has taken a plea deal in connection with the largest identity theft investigation in this city’s history. Hilda Perez Rodriguez pled guilty Wednesday to two felony counts in exchange for charges on nine other counts to be dropped.

Feds Issue New Identity Theft Recommendations

The Bush administration last week issued its annual Identity Theft Task Force Report, including 31 recommendations for combating identity theft and fraud, and boasting of a 26 percent increase in identity theft convictions from 2007.

TrueCredit Survey Reveals Two-Thirds of Consumers are Worried about Identity Theft

According to a new survey, commissioned by TrueCredit.com and conducted by Zogby International, an overwhelming majority of U.S. adults (65.6 percent) say they’re worried about identity theft or fraud.

BBB says it’s the victim of identity theft

The Better Business Bureau sees thousands of consumer complaints about identity theft. Now the bureau is warning that scammers are impersonating the BBB in e-mail messages and blog postings.

US Gov’t Increasing Efforts to Fight ID Theft

The U.S. government has taken several steps to combat identity theft during the past two years, including increased prosecutions of criminals and decreased use of Social Security numbers to identify constituents, according to a report released Tuesday.

Clovis Police Discover Stolen Identities

The Social Security numbers, addresses, and other personal information for as many as 500 Fresno county residents were discovered in a Kingsburg home, in what appears to be an extensive identity theft operation.

Maple Grove woman pleads guilty to identity theft

A Maple Grove woman accused of stealing hundreds of pieces of mail — from tax refunds to credit-card statements, bank records, new driver’s licenses and blank checks — pleaded guilty Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court.