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When you think of identity theft, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Credit card. Right? Ask most people, and that’s what they’ll tell you. Most other common answers have to do with financial institutions. Did you know that your cell phone account is a high-risk place for identity theft? Since it is a form of credit, all of your vital information is one file. This allows thieves to steal your identity in the same manner as they would a credit card. Consumerist points us to a study by the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, which shows that in 2007 Verizon Wireless had the most reported incidents of identity theft.

Verizon’s rate of complaints actually tripled from 2006 to 2007, going from 310.7 household complaints per month to 908.7. Maybe thieves moved to them from AFNI, a collection agency. They saw their rate drop from 716.0 to 131.7.

AT&T is on this list as well. They’re at 763.3 incidents per month. This was second highest on the list, even above Capital One and JP Morgan Chase. So should we be worrying more about scammers nabbing our cell phone accounts than our credit cards? Maybe. It certainly sends out a strong note of caution.

Remember, though, that the results only touch on reported incidents. There are always those “known unknowns” to consider.

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