ABSTRACT
Identity theft is frequently referred to as one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States (Aïmeur & Schonfeld, 2011; Brody, Mulig, & Kimball, 2007; Hoofnagle, 2007; Lynch, 2005; Slosarik, 2002). In 2012, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than 2 million complaints, and approximately one in five of those complaints related to identity theft (Small, 2013). In addition, as of September 30, 2012, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had already identified more than 600,000 incidents of identity theft relating to tax administration alone (White, 2012). Prohibited by the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, identity theft is defined as
Despite widespread recognition of identity theft as a serious social problem affecting consumers, businesses, and governments, there is a dearth of information on the actual scope of the problem (Allison, Schuck, & Lersch, 2005; Hoofnagle, 2007; May & Headley, 2004; Newman & McNally, 2005; Slosarik, 2002). Determining the prevalence of identity theft is difficult for the following reasons (Hoofnagle, 2007; May & Headley, 2004; Newman & McNally, 2005; Stana, 2002):
• Victims may not learn of thefts until months later.
