In the war against identity fraud there was a welcome victory recently. Four years ago hackers using a sophisticated Trojan bug stole close to seventy million dollars from four hundred companies. But due to the diligence of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with able assistance from a college professor and some of his students a number of arrests were finally made in this case.

In In California 4 people were convicted of bilking a few of the major financial institutions out of 10 million dollars. Law enforcement officials believe it is one of the largest identity theft scams in the history of California.

While database break ins have become quite common in the past few years thieves for the most part uses other avenues to steal your identity. Arguably the top five are:

1. Friends And Relatives

More than a few identity theft victims have been shocked to learn someone close to them stole their personal info. In South Carolina the Times-News reported on a woman arrested for stealing the identity of her own sister. Various studies point out that the odds of identity fraud by a person you know is roughly 50 percent.

2. Social Networking

Social networking has gone through the roof in regards to popularity. It seems that everybody is chomping at the bit to go online and talk about the specifics of their life. And that is all right with identity thieves who keep an eye on these sites carefully in the hopes of getting much of this information. As statistics indicate they have not been disappointed.

3. Skimming

You go to the store and pay for something with your credit card. A deceitful cashier swipes the card using a piece of equipment that makes a photocopy of your information. This is a widespread practice because skimming can be set up wherever your card has to be scanned.

4. Mail Fraud and Trash Collection

It’s a tie. They might not be hi tech like skimming but these two still are quite effective. Stealing your mail or simply having it rerouted to another address can cost consumers and business tens of millions of dollars per year. Sifting through someone’s garbage often yields a plethora of personal information given the fact many people do not bother shredding whatever it is they are throwing away.

5. Your Medical Records

This type of identity fraud has really come to the forefront. Yes it can be due to a database break in but most of the time it is an inside job done by a hospital employee. Just filling out the most basic of health information is a goldmine of information.

For more information visit id theft and fraud