Consumer columnist becomes victim of ID theft

Within an hour of the theft of his credit cards and driver's license, bogus purchases were being made or attempted at stores throughout the L.A. area.

David Lazarus
January 25, 2009
Here's an economic indicator we could all live without: Incidents of identity theft and credit card fraud are apparently on the rise as bad economic times bring out the worst in some people.

And you can add me to the list of folk who've been victimized. All my cash and credit cards and my driver's license were stolen last week. Within an hour of the theft, bogus purchases were being made or attempted at Best Buy, Target and Toys R Us locations throughout the area.

I'll offer some tips in a moment about what you can do to protect yourself. But first, it's instructive to see how fast you can lose control of your finances....read more of the story