Introduction

Introduction

Identity fraud, or the ability of one person to take on the identity of another and thereby subsume his role in society, affects an estimated 750,000 people annually. Combined with the fact that identity fraud is the number one consumer complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission, is it any wonder that cyber impersonation holds any less risk?

In fact, taking on someone's identity over the Internet is infinitely easier than doing so in the physical world. That's because few people understand the risks and even fewer take steps to avoid those risks. As e-commerce expands its breadth and depth of offerings, the importance of maintaining the accurate state of a person's identity on the Internet becomes increasingly vital for consumers' and businesses' online confidence.