Identity theft in general is a branch of many identity-related crimes, but is often seen as the only identity-related crime. With the rapid rise of information technology in all professional fields, the increase in identity theft and fraud is also considered to be one of the fastest growing crimes in the world. This affects all sectors of activity, whether government, private or individual. Last year, the British government spent at least €2 billion to prevent this crime. Typically, identity crimes fall into three main categories: identity theft, creating a false identity, and identity fraud. After reviewing the statistics of growing identity-related crime, the government has adopted new legislation to protect people's rights. Laws such as the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the Identity Cards Act 2006, the National Identity Scheme and the Fraud Act 2006 were introduced in order to prevent this increasing crime. . Identity crimes have evolved well beyond the crime of opportunity committed by petty thieves and drug users: it is now a privileged criminal activity that is big business and growing every year. Criminals ranging from street gangs to drug cartels to organized crime syndicates have actively adopted identity theft and cybercrime as key, low-risk revenue-generating businesses. In 2008 alone, street gangs reportedly contributed to a 31% increase in identity theft complaints in the state of California. In the next few pages, we will also discuss information security and how information security plays an important role in protecting an organization's assets. There is therefore no 100% security guarantee; we will see some steps and benchmarks that should be put in place by an organization in order to give the best security standards.Keywo...... middle of paper ......information security standards. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.infosec.gov.hk/english/technical/files/overview.pdf. [Last accessed March 2, 2014]. - Mathew Record, (2008). Protect your identity. 1st ed. United Kingdom: How to Books Ltd. I like the smell of coffee in the morning... (nd). Retrieved from http://tayho.blogspot.com/IBFrances07 - Edublogs.org. (nd). Retrieved from http://ibfrancess13.edublogs.org/page/4/How to Choose the Right Security Company | SDA security. (nd). Retrieved from http://www.sdasecurity.com/general/how-to-choose-the-right-security-company/BITM330 Chapter 4 Flashcards | Quizlet - Simple and free learning... (nd). Retrieved from http://quizlet.com/2979084/bitm330-chapter-4-flash-cards/Shredding Services for Corporate Identity Theft-Business... (nd). Retrieved from http://www.crownshredding.com/CORPORATE-ID-THEFT.aspx