Identity theft is not a crime that one expects to become a victim of, just as one doesn’t expect to become a victim of a burglary or a carjacking, However, it happens around us (if not TO us) more often than we care to think. Many become the victims of someone they know. It is being reported by Javelin Strategy & Research that over 11 million adults fell victim to ID theft in 2009 alone and we aren’t far from finding out how many in 2010.

An article posted on Yahoo’s finance site summarized how terrible the after effects of this crime are. Long after it has taken place, the victims still deal with the aftermath. One such victim received a rude awakening when he got a “thank you” card from a jewelry store he did not purchase a Rolex watch from. This snowballed into him finding out he rented an apartment that he had fully furnished. He also found out he purchased electronics and his tab was over $30,000.

The victim was able to get the phone number to the thief using his name and found out that his identity was purchased on the black market. The thief was later arrested for identity theft and sentenced to five years in prison. The victim, however, was sentenced to 160 hours of phone time and an 8 inch thick file of documents to clear his name. He also still owes $4,000 that he did not charge and his credit rating dropped by 280 points.