Statistics on Identity theft are alarming, some estimates are as high as 27,000 per day. There's a lot of information on ID theft and a lot of misinformation also. The biggest misconception is that Identity theft is financial only. It can actually be your finances, social security number, driver's license information, medical history of your good name. Each has different consequences. Each has different misconceptions too. Take financial ID theft. How many times do we hear "you won't be held liable for fraudulent charges". Truth is the way the law is written in America there's a big loophole. You have to report the fraudulent charges within 60 days of the bill being issued. Suppose someone opens an account in your name you don't know about and you find out when you try to buy a car six months down the line. You can be held liable for every bit of the debt the ID thief incurs. Want more information go to http://www.ftc.gov

I'm really surprised no one has added to this forum.  With the ID theft rates climbing, and the number and variety of victims, I would think everyone would want to know about this.  So let me talk for a moment to parents.

Do you have a child under the age of 18.  They are at risk also.  Somewhere in the neighborhood of 6% of victims are under the age of 18.  Children's identities are being used for everything for credit cards to setting up a household(renting apartments, getting utilities).  Once they hit 18 they graduate to the highest risk group 18-29.  It's important that we teach our children about this crime also.