Hi. My name in Mike Byrne and welcome to the Identity Theft Prevention Center.  Identity Theft is growing at a very fast rate.  The reasons are simple - opportunity and low risk to thieves.  You need to take steps to protect your identity from theft.  Most of these protection steps are very simple and common sense can go a long way to protecting your identity.

This site has been developed because I believe the internet is turning into a dangerous place for the unwary. There are too many scams and tricks being use to trick people into revealing identity information to thieves. I am deeply saddened by this. I have been using the internet since before the first browser. I have used it everyday for close to two decades. I want to continue using it without losing my identity to theft.

I am a computer professional. I was Director of Information Technology for one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. I was Chief Information Officer at a non-profit organization. I currently am a computer systems consultant to large companies. I have been working with computers and computer systems for over 26 years.

This site has been created to help people who are not computer experts to protect themselves from identity theft and  computer scams. There will be a lot of information, but I am also creating simple checklists that will summarize a lot of the information presented. My goal is to allow you to quickly take steps to protect your identity from theft. I plan to keep things as simple as possible.

• RCMP Warn of Identity Theft (Voice of the Common Man)
  
  The RCMP is warning about the dangers of giving out personal information, including on-line. Cpl Yvonne Walsh says more and more people are becoming victims of identity theft and similar crimes.
  


• Fourth person charged in identity theft case (The Vicksburg Post)
  
  Questioning of three people arrested this week on identity theft charges has led to a fourth arrest and upgraded charges against one of the original three.
  


• Man charged with fraud, identity theft (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
  
  A Tukwila man has been charged with identity theft after asking a police detective for help forging credit cards.
  


• Hundreds of car buyers could be victims of identity theft (The Atascocita Observer)
  
  Investigators with the Houston Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit are seeking potential victims of identity theft following the arrest of two suspects charged with being in possession of the personal identifying information of hundreds of unsuspecting car buyers in the Houston area.
  


• N.L. RCMP use officer's story to warn about identity theft (CBC Newfoundland and Labrador)
  
  Newfoundland and Labrador RCMP are warning about how easy it is to become the victim of identity theft by telling the story of one of their own officers.
  


• Knoxville man pleads guilty to identity theft (WBIR-TV Knoxville)
  
  A Knoxville man was sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to identity theft and mail fraud.
  


• N.L. RCMP use officer's story to warn about identity theft (CBC via Yahoo! Canada News)
  
  Newfoundland and Labrador RCMP are warning the public about how easy it is to become the victim of identity theft by telling the story of one of one of their own officers.
  


• Wilmington Police search for woman accused of identity theft (WECT 6 Wilmington)
  
  Wilmington Police are searching for a woman accused of identity theft.
  


• Identity theft target of new effort (La Vista Sun)
  
  LINCOLN -- A new publicity and educational campaign is being launched to help Nebraska businesses safeguard against security breaches that lead to crimes like identity theft.
  


• Industries rip new identity theft protection rules (Belmont Citizen-Herald)
  
  Representatives from the mutual fund industry, small businesses, and human service providers on Wednesday tore into new rules aimed at cutting down on identity theft, as the Patrick administration’s top consumer affairs official said businesses could handle the regulations.