Identity and other information about you is held in a variety places, most of which you will not be able to control, and many of which are publicly available. An identity thief can find out a great deal about you, simply by accessing publicly available information.

- Your telephone number and address can easily found, simply by using the telephone book. Additionally, reverse look-up services can be used to find out about you, starting from your phone number.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, also referred to as the SEC, was created back in 1934 by section 4 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It was created to regulate the securities industry, protect investors from fraud, as well as to enforce federal securities laws. Some of the federal securities laws that are enforced by the SEC include: the Securities Act of 1933, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.