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: cases are never even registered. Firewalls, anti-spyware softwares, secure and password protected pages and documents may all offer you protection. However, once your 12 digit card number, 15 digit account number and basic information has been typed out in cyberspace, there is no turning back. We are all sitting ducks in the hands of sophisticated criminals who want to make "quick-money".

What is identity theft?

Identity theft is a term used to refer to fraud that involves stealing money or getting other benefits by pretending to be someone else. The term is relatively new and is actually a misnomer, since it is not inherently possible to steal an identity, only to use it. The person whose identity is used can suffer various consequences when they are held responsible for the perpetrator's actions. At one time the only way for someone to steal somebody elses identity was by killing that person and taking his place. It was typically a violent crime. However, since then, the crime has evolved and today's white collared criminals are a lot less brutal. But the ramifications of an indentity theft are still scary.

As per the non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center, identity thefts can be sub-divided into four categories. These are financial identity theft, criminal identity theft, identity cloning, and business/commercial identity theft.

In many cases the victim is not even aware of what is being done till it is already too late. Identity theft may be used to facilitate crimes, including illegal immigration , terrorism , and espionage . It may also be used as a means of blackmail. There have also been cases of identity cloning to attack payment systems, including online credit card processing and medical insurance. Sometimes people may impersonate others for non-financial reasons too. This is often done to receive praise or attention for the victim's achievements. This is sometimes referred to as identity theft in the media, and is a common trend seen by look-a-likes.

One does not have to think too far back before re-collecting a probable victim of identity theft in India. An American