Identity theft complaints drop more than 21 percent in 2013, part 2 of 2

Oh, the ways fraudsters can steal identities. A middle school food service worker swiped personally identifiable information (PII) of at least 400 students. A mail carrier snatched tax documents out of mailboxes. And a jail guard stole inmates' PII. In an April South Florida sweep, federal authorities arrested 25 people accused of using stolen identities to claim $36 million in fraudulent tax refunds. (See US Charges 25 in Miami in ID Theft, Tax Fraud Case, NBC Miami, April 4, 2014.)

In part 2, we discuss even more creative ways ID thieves can rip you off, and analyze more statistics from the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) 2013 Consumer Sentinel Data Book. The goal? To equip you with some practical anti-identity theft ammunition in this ongoing fight.

Government documents or benefits fraud