New Jersey bankruptcy Article

The New York Times
ANN CARRNS
Published: October 5, 2011

Identity theft is an anxiety-provoking topic, and one that seems to spawn a lot of hype and misinformation. To help both consumers and businesses sort out fact from fiction, the Consumer Federation of America has opened a new Web site, idtheftinfo.org.

The site offers links to helpful, credible Web sites that offer information and advice about identity theft and privacy protection. One link, for instance, is to the site maintained by the Federal Trade Commission, which features a fun identity theft “face off” quiz. You start out with a blank face, and every time you answer an identity-theft related question correctly, you get to fill in a feature.

The site also offers tips for evaluating claims made by identity-theft protection services, to help you spot misleading or exaggerated claims. The tips grew out of an effort by the federation’s Identity Theft Best Practices Working Group, which includes consumer advocates as well as representatives of profit-making service providers. The group aims to “promote responsible industry practices and help consumers sort through the clutter of information and misinformation about identity theft and how to protect themselves,” said Susan Grant, the federation’s director of consumer protection, in a statement introducing the new Web site.

The site currently features an interactive map showing “hot spots” for medical identity theft — the misappropriation of someone’s personal information to obtain medical care.

The federation is a nonprofit association of roughly 300 groups who work together on consumer research, advocacy and education.

If you visit the site, let us know in the comments what you found helpful.