13.4 million Americans’ personal information was compromised in just nine months of 2009. Identity theft is the illegal use of someone else’s personal information to obtain money or credit.
Here you will find the latest identity theft news coverage and up-to-the minute news on security breaches. By tracking and listing news on the security breaches we hope to keep you informed and enable you to quickly determine if you have been exposed to a potential ID theft situation.
While companies are required by federal law to declare information regarding security breaches, there can be a lag in the time it takes to reach affected consumers, and about 70% of the fraud from a stolen identity incident occurs in the first week.
If you feel you may have been affected by a security breach, contact the company that suffered the loss of your information and inquire about actions they are taking to combat identity theft and any possible compensation and other assistance that they may be prepared to offer you. We recommend you to take a proactive stance as companies may not always fully inform you of what they are willing to do and the range of assistance that they could provide you to rectify the situation.