Simple everyday activities such as selling a used personal computer going out for dinner or taking out your trash can lead to an identity theft incident for that reason identity theft is easier to prevent than prosecute but if you have been the victim of an identity thief here are some things you can do to help law enforcement apprehend the guilty party. An identity theft investigation is a highly specialized type of detective assignment that can help victims whose personal information has been stolen identity fraud is a huge problem for private individuals businesses and of course credit issuers which are most frequently the real long term victims of the crime. Identity theft is a crime that a shocking amount of americans face at one point or another in their lives thanks in part to the rise in data breaches which spread personal information far and wide for criminals to easily get their hands on add in other methods of identity theft such as familiar fraud and youve got the recipe for a whole lot of trouble. Identity theft can be a difficult crime to spot and that may be a key reason why so many people become victims here are 15 facts about this growing crime that may surprise you knowing them though could give you the information you need to help protect yourself identity theft is a problem for millions of people