So much talk happens surrounding online Identity Theft, that people often forget about how Identity Theft can take place in the real (physical) world.

If I am a real-world identity thief, and I don’t want to use real methods (instead of virtual methods like hacking) one of the tools I have in my arsenal of ways to get your information is to use the United States Postal Service.

Now you might think this is as simple as just locking your mailbox, but that won’t help you in this situation. One thing that identity thieves can do is actually go to the post office and have your mail put on hold and pick it up themselves.

Identity fraud is the fastest growing white-collar crime in America. For the purposes of this article I will concentrate on Financial Identity Fraud. This is when a criminal assumes your identity in order to obtain credit, get loans, write bad checks, rent or buy property, buy vehicles and more.

When you are taken advantage of in this way it can harm many aspects of your life: reputation, credit history, bank account and so on. It takes a significant amount of time, effort and expense to get those items back in order after having been a victim.

Some facts about identity fraud:

Identity theft is no longer an unusual occurrence. It is rapidly evolving and is quickly becoming a socio-economic inevitability. Identity theft is the fastest growing white-collar crime. It is a crime in which an impostor obtains key pieces of your personal identifying information such as your Social Security number or driver’s license number and uses them for their own personal gain. Identity pirates can gather all sorts of confidential information about you by prowling the Web. They begin with the misuse of your personally identifying information such as your name and Social Security number, credit card numbers, or other financial account information. Once they have this information, identity thieves may rent an apartment, obtain a credit card, or establish a telephone account in your name.