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U.S. PIRG Consumer Blog
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September 29, 2006
Myth: ID Thieves are your friends and family
[Update Jan 2007-corrected old urls] A story in the New York Times this week, Surging Losses, but Few Victims in Data Breaches, is the latest to perpetuate the industry-propelled myth that identity thieves are mostly your friends and family: In the majority of cases, identity thieves are family members, relatives, neighbors and co-workers. It seems that toxic social networks -- not leaky computer networks -- are the real hazard. Actually, according to the data, most victims never find out who the thief was, which is why we need strong consumer privacy rights including the right to a security freeze on your credit report and strict breach notification laws. Based on FTC data, privacy expert Chris Hoofnagle has prepared this chart. Read more in his blog.
Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at September 29, 2006 10:04 AM
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