Give me convenience or give me death! With our increased reliance on the convenience of the web and plastic over cash, we have opened a pandora's box in crime. In this case, Pandora is called identity theft.

In this modern digital age, we are defined by our virtual personal profile in databases. Identity theft is simply the kidnapping of this virtual profile. Once obtained, the theif then uses the profile in a variety of profitable manners.

Stolen credit cards are the most common form of identity theft, right? Nope. Misused credit card accounts are the result of the swiping of the real prize. What is the real prize? Social security numbers, the gateway to your finances.

Whether you realize it or not, social security numbers are the foundation of our financial society. You must have one to play. By play, I mean open credit card and bank accounts, take loans and so on. This is exactly what happens.

Another area where social security numbers are being turned into criminal profits is fairly new. Many illegal immigrants are required to show valid social security numbers to hold jobs. Guess where those numbers are coming from.

The sale of social security numbers to people who need them to hold a job causes another massive problem for the victim. Taxes. The IRS receives a report of all earnings per social security number. If you under report, you will be contacted.

Then there is the classic bank account scheme. The first identity theives simply took social security numbers, opened bank accounts with them and wrote bad checks. It still happens today and banks will come looking for you eventually.

Owning the latest mobile phone seems to be a must these days. Signing up for such phone services is simple and indentity theives are famous for doing it. The people at those kiosks in the mall just don't check very closely.

The horrific thing about identity theft is it occurs without the victim knowing it. The identity thief always uses an alternative address, so you have no way of discovering what is going on until it is much too late.

Sooner or later, you will figure out that you have been a victim of identity theft. It may be when collectors call or when your ATM card doesn't work or when a credit card charge is rejected. Whatever the occasion, it will not be pleasant.

Trying to convince credit card companies, the IRS and so on that you are innocent is a test that would make Buddhist monks riot. Your best option is to take every step possible to avoid the problem.