Weapons of Mass DistractionIdentity Theft - Digital Age Cyprus?

I was entering my latest bank transactions into Quicken the other day when I saw a charge that I didn't recognise on my debit card.  It was for $24.99 and had "DIGITAL AGE CYPRUS" in the description along with an incomplete phone number.  I searched google for this information and noticed that I wasn't alone.  Dozens of other people over the same few weeks had also reported the same charge on their accounts.  I immediately called the bank and disputed the charge, cancelled my card, and ordered a new one.  Nobody that I saw could even figure out the common place where everyone's credit card information could've been stolen.  It was a Visa Bank of America check card in my case.  Some people there had never even used their credit card for online purchases.  The charge wasn't very much money but it made me extremely paranoid.  Getting a new debit card number seems like such a small thing, but in reality it was a much bigger hassle.  This isn't even really identity theft.  I can't imagine how long it would take to rebuild my credit if someone else managed to get a credit card in my name.  I must get 4 credit card applications in the mail each week.  They've even started coming from companies I do business with, such as my car insurance company.  This irritates me since they become harder to filter out by posing as legitimate communications.  I can't imagine this problem becoming any less of any issue in the years to come.  I look ahead with a bit of paranoia at the technical methods that will be leveraged to secure our finances.  Biometrics worries me.  I recently fooled a thumb print scanner with a silicone copy of my finger.  That was extremely low tech too.  Once someone steals your biometric you are S.O.L.

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