Cybercrime on the rise

Security firm Tiversa says its research reveals a 32 percent jump in identity theft-related searches in the fall of 2008 as thieves continued to find new ways to extract sensitive information and commit fraud on unsuspecting victims, reports Government Technology. The company said its data shows that the searches for sensitive information include keywords related to personal banking logins, passwords, tax returns, credit card, account numbers, credit reports and medical information.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. Typical identity theft victims spend hundreds of hours trying to repair damage done to their credit record and can be denied loans for housing, education and cars.

For more on this growing threat:
- see the Government Technology article [1]

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Identity theft news from FierceCIO [2]
Cybercrime payoff greater than drug dealing [3]