Identity Theft:

Identity theft occurs when a person knowingly or intentionally obtains personal identifying information of another person; and uses, or attempts to use, that information with fraudulent intent, including to obtain, or attempt to obtain, credit, goods, services, any other thing of value, or medical information in the name of another person without the consent of that person.

There are many ways an identity thief may gain access to your personal identifying information, including both high and low-tech methods.

They get information from businesses or institutions by stealing records from their employer, bribing an employee who has access to the records, conning information out of employees, or hacking into the organization's computers. They rummage through your trash, the trash of businesses, or dumps in a practice known as "dumpster-diving."

They obtain credit reports by abusing their employer's authorized access to credit reports or by posing as a landlord, employer or someone else who may have a legitimate need for and a legal right to the information.

They steal credit and debit card account numbers as your card is processed by using a special information storage device in a practice known as "skimming."   They steal wallets and purses containing identification and credit and bank cards.  They steal mail, including bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new checks, or tax information.  They complete a "change of address form" to divert mail to another location.   They steal personal information from your home. They scam information from you by posing as a legitimate business person or government official.

Attorney General Mark L. Shurtleff:

Mark L. Shurtleff was re-elected as the Utah Attorney General in November 2004 with a strong 70% of the vote; and is now serving his second term. Since taking office, the number of meth labs has been decreased by two-thirds and he has talked to thousands of students and parents about the dangers of drugs.  He has also toured the state to warn about the predators on the Internet.  The AG's Office investigates and prosecutes child pornographers who use the Internet to abuse children and has a 100% conviction rate.  Shurtleff set up Utah's AMBER Alert, helped pass the state’s Do Not Call Bill and stopped the federal government from legally taking control of millions of acres of public lands in Utah.  Previously, Shurtleff served as a Salt Lake County Commissioner and prosecuted cases as an Officer and Attorney in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps.  Most importantly, he and his wife, M’Liss, have been married 27 years and are the parents of five children and one grandchild.