Corrupt individuals on the inside of an organization are the largest single source of identity theft. It’s not the carelessness of consumers that pose the biggest threat but the vulnerability of sensitive, private and identifying information.

Financial institutions, merchants, credit bureaus and government agencies do not adequately safeguard their databases and other files that contain sensitive information on consumers making it relatively easy for thieves to access. Using Social Security numbers as identifiers, many institutions fail to notify consumers when a security breach occurs and often provide little help or recourse to clean up the mess left behind by identity theft. With three simple pieces of information, a full name, date of birth and Social Security number, a thief can fraudulently open credit or bank accounts or drain existing accounts.

Here are several other ways to be exposed to the threat:

• Hackers can break into company databases or websites to steal personal data or credit card information.
• E-mail spammers and phishing schemes use false pretense to lure consumers into revealing personal information.
• Dumpster diving is when discarded personal information and bills containing sensitive information is picked out of the trash.
• Stolen mail from unlocked mailboxes reward theives with preapproved credit card offers, checks and othe personal data.
• Fake or stolen IDs are used to take over existing bank or credit accounts and escape detection by forwarding mail to new addresses.
• Skimming is when a handheld magnetic card reader is used by waiters, gas station attendants or store clerks to steal the personal information encoded on the magnetic strip on credit and debit cards. Sometimes the data is transferred to make counterfeit credit cards.
• Discarded computer hard drives are a treasure trove of sensitive information. Students at MIT were able to recover sensitive files from almost half of the discarded computers they tested.

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