Identity theft victims help catch the bad guys by Corina Ciubotaru

Identity theft is one of the most recent, but common types of crime. If a hacker somehow finds a way to use your bank account and starts spending your money, it's identity theft. And it's a nightmare if it happens to you: you will soon have no money, your checks will bounce, you cards will become useless and the bank will still blame you for not keeping your account functional. It will probably take a very long time to get the problem sorted out with the bank and don't expect it to be easy. If you discover you are the victim of identity theft, the first thing you should do is to place a fraud alert on your credit reports, to prevent the hacker from opening accounts in your name. The fraud alert can be placed at any of these three companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Next, you should try to close the accounts that have been tampered with then file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission which has a special Identity Theft Hotline. Last but not least, you should report your trouble to the police. Hackers are many, but every once in a while, one of them gets caught. This time, it was Max Ray Butler from San Francisco, who stole account information and then sold it to various buyers for a few hundred dollars. He was known as Iceman and now risks 40 years of prison and a fine of $1.5 million if he is found guilty on all five charges. He was arrested on September 5th in California.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070911/ap_on_hi_te/internet_credit_theft;_ylt=AnsnncrKRnB0pf6t6r9NQAis0NUE

by Corina Ciubotaru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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edited by Barbora Matulova