Rise in ID Theft Blamed on Smartphones, Social Media

Nearly 12 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2011, an increase of 13 percent over 2010, according to a report by the research firm Javelin Strategy & Research. The rise in the use of smartphones and social media by incautious consumers fueled the increase in identity fraud, and 2011 was a year of several big data breaches too, Javelin said.