Identity Theft: How to Protect Your Name, Your Credit and Your Vital Information--And What to Do When Someone Hijacks Any of These

This comprehensive look at one of the fastest growing crimes in the U.S. does exactly what its long title promises. It exhaustively lays out all the specifics related to the different ways that someone can steal personal information and use it to commit crimes, primarily to fraudulently obtain purchases and loans. The most interesting chapter details""The Mechanics of ID Theft,"" including credit card and mailbox theft--and gives fascinating details about the various ways that criminals have stolen complete mailboxes to get information. Another excellent chapter details the use of Social Security numbers in illegal immigration, terrorism and other crimes. The authors take a dim view of credit bureaus such as Equifax and TransUnion, arguing convincingly that credit bureaus""hope to tap into anxieties of people who worry about ID theft"" and that--most alarmingly--""all of the major cases of ID theft in the 1990s and 2000s"" have involved""information taken from credit bureau files."" Overall, however, the book is long on background and short on advice; it is almost a primer for how a potential identity thief could successfully operate. The authors favor comprehensiveness over concision, leading to bland advice such as""Keep checks in a secure place"" and""Clean your wallet.""