The concept of identity theft is one most of us have heard of and hopefully work hard to prevent from happening to us. The concept of identity theft came into play in 1991 when it was featured in a story by the Boston Globe newspaper. The story documents information from the social security office urging individuals to take immediate action of they find they have become the victim of identity theft.

However this wasn't even the origin of identity theft as records of it taking place were reported in newspapers in the 1960's. However the term identity theft had not yet been coined. The story ran in 1966 in an Ohio newspaper tells about a man who died in the Vietnam War. It was only upon his death that it was learned he had enlisted under the name of an acquaintance he had met years earlier.

The identity theft was discovered when the information the dead man had given for next of kin was correct. It was his sister who was confused by the name but positively identified her brother as the deceased. She believed he gave false information because he wanted to be in the military but was afraid his criminal history would keep him out.

Today identity theft is the number one type of white collar crime taking place. It is used for much more than just getting into the military when you have a criminal record. Each year millions of dollars are charged up in fraudulent credit card charges due to identity theft. Most of it takes place online because criminals find it much easier to hide their identity and prevent getting caught.

You can help prevent identity theft from happening to you by carefully reviewing your credit card statements, bank statements, and credit reports. It is also a good idea to have insurance in place because these types of theft transactions can occur overnight before you have time to take any action. Identity theft can happen to anyone so be prepared.