by BRAD ROLLINS

Underscoring the familiar warning that anyone can be the victim of identity theft, District Attorney Sherri Tibbe was herself the recent target of a credit card hustle.

Tibbe said she had disabled a credit card and asked that a new one be sent to her. The next day, she started seeing a series of strange charges on her account that include a Christian-themed video, wrinkle treatment and a fill up at the gas station.

“The only thing I can think of is they got hold of my card in the mail,” Tibbe said.

In 2004, the latest year for which government data is available, 3.6 million households – three percent of all households in the U.S. – discovered that at least one member had been a victim of identity theft in the last six months, according the U.S. Department of Justice National Crime Victimization Survey.

Those numbers appear to be on the rise. Identity theft affected nearly 10 million victims in 2008, a 27 percent increase from the year before, according to the Javeline Strategy & Research Center, a security consulting firm.

Credit card fraud constitutes the largest portion of those crimes, 26 percent, followed by utilities fraud (18 percent), bank fraud (17 percent), employment fraud (12 percent), loan fraud (5 percent), government benefits fraud (9 percent) and other forms (13 percent).

Tibbe’s case also emphasizes the difficulties of arresting and prosecuting criminals in the shadowy world of identity theft. The district attorney said no arrests have been made in her case and she doesn’t expect any.
“I doubt they will catch anyone,” she said.

To reduce one’s risk of having his identity stolen, experts recommend frequently checking credit and debit card accounts for unauthorized charges, shredding documents with identifying information before disposal and monitoring reports from the three credit bureaus at least once a year.