The Sweet Would Not Be as Sweet without the Sour

Today identity theft will be on the minds of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the Federal Trade Commission.

“According to the FTC, about 10 million Americans were victims of identity theft last year, a crime wave that costs companies and consumers an estimated $50 billion annually. Thieves used to satisfy themselves with Dumpster diving for credit card receipts and instant credit applications in order to ride roughshod over a victim's good credit rating. Now, in some cases, they've replaced Dumpsters with databases and don't even need to get their chinos scuffed to steal thousands of identities at once.”

Before you know it, the scene in this cartoon from The Economist will be next.

The Economist: Dreams of a Cashless Society

When the US adopts the m-wallet system, will we be equipped to handle it? Should the Senate begin to consider the implications now?