ID Theft Fraud At All-Time High

Toss out all your preconceived notions about identity theft impacting older people in big cities who mainly do business via “snail mail”–i.e. the mailbox. A new government report gives insight on where it’s happening and to whom…and it may not be who, where, or how you think!

At least two million people across the country are recovering from identity theft. The fraud is at an all-time high, according to the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, a report released by the Federal Trade Commission.

“I don’t know how but someone over in Colorado at the time, got my information,” says 28-year-old Clarity Smith.

The Plano woman is the typical identity theft victim. She’s in her 20’s and a recent college graduate who spends a lot of time on the computer.

“They had my social security, driver’s license, billing address….”

After finishing college, Smith posted applications on several online job sites. She suspects that’s how someone in Denver stole her identity.

“They went from department store to department store at three different malls over two days and opened up lines of credit.” Read more >>

Living on Food Stamps in Middle-Class Suburbia

CNNMoney
Since the recession, persistent unemployment has left middle-class life out of reach for millions of Americans.
But few residents of Morris County, N.J., could have ever imagined they would end up on government assistance. Morris County is known for its wealth and million-dollar homes. Median household income there is over $91,000. Yet, the number of people receiving food stamps in the area has nearly tripled in the past five years.

Phyllis Tonnesen is on the front lines of the epidemic. She works for the Department of Human Services Office of Temporary Assistance. In her 27 years at the agency, she says this is the worst she's ever seen it.