Identity theft is the crime of this century.

Just ask Frank Abagnale of Catch Me If You Can fame. He states so in the Q&A of the latest edition of that book. So here, then, is the true-crime book of this century. This is the first book on the subject from the inside, told by someone who's assumed hundreds of identities and become rich off it. Not only does the author reveal how ID theft is done, he tells loads of wildly unbelievable but true stories about his impersonations as they led to riches. Some of them are as funny and outrageous as they are amazing.

At the same time he tells people how to protect themselves from the gangs of ID thieves thriving in the real and virtual worlds of today, and as he explains in his foreword, Glenn Hastings is writing this book to repent for his crimes. While committing them, he failed to take into account the damage they caused his victims. He states that had he continued on his massive trail of ID and credit fraud, he could have conceivably made a billion dollars. But enough was enough; ultimately he had to do the right thing.