Petition Drive for 2004 Ballot Measure
The Consumer Federation of California has joined with other consumer groups to place a financial privacy initiative on the March 2004 ballot. Californians are deeply concerned about their financial privacy and overwhelmingly support strong privacy protection. Join the fight to protect your financial privacy.

As more consumers rely on the Web for banking, shopping, and everyday interactions, the downsides of online privacy only appear to grow worse. Just about everybody has heard stories from a buddy or relative who has either had their identity robbed or been a victim of net crime. If you would like to defend your finances and your credit record, it is very important to be conscious of what ID theft is and what can be done to stop it. What's a Nicked Identity? Over 2,000,000  were victims of ID theft in the US last year.

Though this number varies dependent on how you outline "identity theft," the number has been rocketing yearly since 2k.

However the news is not all bad, many companies take online security very seriously. Take this website for instance who specialize in online cash advance loans. They use SSL throughout the application process to ensure all data is protected.

When an identity is "stolen," what fundamentally happens is that someone else uses your banking info or Social Security ID to hook directly into your credit to open accounts without your permission or information. Because this could go on for months or perhaps even years before you become conscious of it, there is the potential for many thousands of bucks to get charged in your name. The right way to Stop ID Theft Though there's no way to utterly avoid ID theft, you can take a pro-active approach to monitoring your credit. This is a crafty way to not only avoid difficulties, and also to practice decent money sense for the future. - The first burglary could have happened from any amount of sources, including pay stubs, monetary documents, mail, or robbed purses or wallets. It's smart to shred all documents containing your private info, keep your mailbox in a safe location ( or lock it ), and to cancel all of the cards from a mislaid wallet right away.

- Constantly check one of the 3 major credit reporting agencies ( Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion ) for changes to your credit. Anything that looks suspicious including accounts you did not open or credit you do not recall making an application for should be analyzed instantly. What should Be done if Your Identity gets Stolen If you find that you've been a victim of I. D. theft, the most vital thing you can do is act swiftly.