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Identity Theft is the number one crime, affecting about 9 Million victims annually, and resulting in about $50 Billion in annual losses. The I-Phone is the number one consumer product, estimated to have registered over 500,000 unit sales in its opening weekend launch, and expected by some analysts, such as PiperFaffray, to record as many as 45 Million annual unit sales by 2009.

Identity Theft occurrences increased dramatically following the proliferation of the new technology of the internet, accompanied by Computer Viruses, Malware, Phishing, Skimming and more. The I-Phone is termed as a technological breakthrough, supported by over 200 I-Phone related patent filings. Will such technological breakthrough lead to another explosion to the upside in the number of occurrences of Identity Theft?

If there is a risk of Identity Theft associated with the I-Phone, such risk would stem from A- using the I-Phone as a tool to commit Identity Theft, B- targeting users' I-Phones as a source for sensitive data. The massive storage capacity of the I-Phone, currently at either 4 or 8 GB, facilitates Identity Theft criminals' ability to use the I-Phone as a tool of their trade by allowing them to connect such device to others' computers and laptops, retrieving and storing valuable sensitive information in a relatively short period of time. Meanwhile, Identity Theft criminals who steal an actual I-Phone, or if capable of hacking into others' I-Phones, could acquire valuable information about their victims.

There have been reports, prior to the introduction of the I-Phone, that the popular I-Pod can be used in what is known as "pod-slurping". According to Will Sturgeon, as reported on CNET News.com, Cyber thieves would use I-Pod devices which when inserted into a USB Port, would automatically download and scan for sensitive data at a rate of 100MB every couple of minutes. Furthermore, it has been reported my Michelle Meyers, also of CNET News.com, that the police caught and charged Identity Theft criminals who were also found to have stored stolen sensitive information on an I-Pod device. Since the I-Phone is also an I-Pod, among many other things, the ability to use such device for proliferating such crime would obviously encompass the I-Phone.

Although such risk is real, it certainly is of no fault of the I-Phone or Apple. Identity Thieves can use any storage device for their purposes, regardless whether such storage device may be an I-Pod, I-Phone, Memory Stick, R-CD, Floppy Disk, or even a pen and paper. It is true that as technology advances, tasks become more efficient. After all, the purpose of technological advances is to achieve better efficiency. It is unfortunate that some criminals would use such efficiency for their advancement of their trade.

The next question is whether the i-Phone can be easily targeted by Identity Theft criminals for retrieving valuable sensitive information contained on the device. An I-Phone user would be concerned on two fronts: A- in case the device is stolen, B- in case a hacker can hack into the device.

The I-Phone does have a four digit Passcode feature which can be enabled. If such Passcode is forgotten, the I-Phone must be connected to the computer used to activate the I-Phone in order to restore it. It certainly would not be advisable to store sensitive personal data, such as social security number, on an I-Phone, nor Laptop or Computer. However, the Passcode feature does allow users to protect their I-Phone.

The I-Phone has been criticized on various security fronts, such as inability to load security software, firewall, data encryption, etc...  Such limitations are somewhat offset by the fact that the I-Phone's closed operating system also makes it harder to hack into, and reduces the risk of Malware, viruses and other.

It can be argued that the I-Phone's closed operating system makes it possibly safer than other similar devices. Hence, it does not seem that the I-Phone increases the risk of Identity Theft in case such device falls into the wrong hands either physically or remotely. However, considering the wealth of data that can stored on an I-Phone, and the attractiveness of such device, it is a must that users protect their device with a Passcode.

The evolution of the criminal trade to make use of technology in order to steal and store data efficiently is almost impossible to counter. Hence, consumers concerned about Identity Theft must be actively involved in deterrence in order to avoid becoming victims of Identity Theft. Deterrence measures should include keeping personal, sensitive information private, and preferably offline. In addition, consumers should be active in Credit Monitoring, and should consider Locking Down access to their Credit Report (for more information see http://www.creditlock.com/creditlockdownpro.html) The I-Phone, I-Pod and other technologically advanced devices, when used with care, do not pose an Identity Theft threat themselves, but like most other technological advancements, can be used by Identity Theft Criminals for the advancement of their trade.