"If you live outside the law you must be honest" - bob dylan

Current and future likings to Dick Tracy and Sherlock Holmes are more likely to be logged online than glued down to a bar stool getting tips from the local hoods. Now the local hoods are 'virtually' everywhere.

Here is an article from ComputerWorld, 22 January 2004 about the current state of identity theft.

FTC Reports Identity Theft, Fraud Still Rising

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission released statistics showing that identity theft and fraud cost Americans in excess of $400 million in 2003 as scam artists took advantage of the Internet to find new targets. The FTC said it received more than 500,000 consumer complaints in 2003, with identity theft topping the list at 215,000 complaints, up 33 percent from 2002. Internet-related fraud was responsible for more than half the remaining complaints, with auction fraud the most prevalent form of Internet scam.For those interested in a career in law enforcement, as well as in the computer and Internet realm, mixing computer science degrees and criminal justice may offer a package to future employers that fits a niche needing to be filled. Here are a couple online university programs that offer criminal justice courses.

Kaplan Online Criminal Justice

University of Phoenix Single Course Criminal Justice Programs