Overview
Your personal financial information is bought, sold and traded by corporations without your permission or knowledge. Everyday, banks, credit card companies and other institutions trade sensitive data such as credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, checking account numbers, average account balances, credit limits, and credit insurance status. They collect information they don't really need and are careless in the way they manage it. This makes it easy for thieves to get their hands on your personal records.
As a result, identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America, affecting a new victim every 78 seconds. Maryland ranks 11th in the country for the crime, according to the Federal Trade Commission. In 2005, 4,848 people were defrauded in Maryland.
Identity theft often leads to much more than just bogus credit card charges. It can involve thieves taking out lines of credit in victims' names, criminals giving someone else's ID to law enforcement officers, and other types of fraud.
Most often, it's the responsibility of the victim to clean up the mess, not the company that mismanaged their personal information. Like many victims, Ginny Shelp of Odenton, spent over 600 hours and $1,500 clearing her name. This is unfair, and Maryland PIRG is working to put consumers back in control of their personal financial information, to deter financial institutions from reckless business practices, and to give victims of identity theft recourse to clear their records.
