The identity theft crisis has increased dramatically due to people using their credit cards over the Internet. Hackers are reaching out to large companies and gaining access to the credit card information of millions of people (Bray and Yadron 2). A person's identity is never safe and can be stolen more easily than you might think. As identity theft rates increase, it becomes more dangerous. The government, along with many large companies, is working to prevent identity theft. Before most Internet shopping, identity theft had never been such a big problem. Now that the Internet market has become so large, it has also become a huge target for identity thieves. Most believe that identity theft won't happen to them, when in reality it is an extremely dangerous thing, increasing at a high rate and could happen to anyone at any time. In today's society, identity theft happens more than ever. In 2011, identity theft increased by 13%. This affected 11.6 million adults. SSIDs and credit card accounts have been stolen through social networks (Veen 20+). This shows how dangerous the Internet is for your credit card. Identity theft is happening more and more often. Brigitte Acoca states, “Identity theft is the fastest growing crime of the 21st century” (Stein 68). When a crime grows that fast, it becomes a bigger market for criminals. The greater the number of criminals who commit the crime, the greater the likelihood that their identity will be stolen. Identity theft doesn't just happen over the Internet. It can also take place through third-party operators. People often receive various phone calls from third-party operators asking for their credit card number or SSID. If the “victim” c...... in the center of the card ......weight: Protect your finances, health and freedom." Free credit scores | 3 credit bureaus | FreeScoresAndMore.com. Np, nd Web. 14 April 2014."Prevent and report identity theft | USA.gov." USA.gov: Official Web Portal of the United States Government. Np, nd Web. April 15, 2014. "Immediate Steps to Repair Consumer Information from Identity Theft." Np, August 2012. Web. 15 April 2014. Ledford, Jerry. “Steps to Recovering Your Identity After Identity Theft.” Np, nd Web. 16 Apr. 2014. “Identity Theft.” 2014."Financial Identity Theft is the Most Common Form of Identity Theft." Financial Identity Theft is the Most Common Form of Identity Theft. NP, nd Web. April 17, 2014. "Criminal Identity Theft: What do if it happens to you." Criminal Identity Theft: What to Do If It Happens to You. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, May 2013. Web. April 17. 2014.