A lot of it has to do with people not knowing they have been victimized or don't know what to do. |
Regardless of how legitimate it looks, it's a fraud. No government agency or company is going to ask for sensitive information over e-mail. |
There's a lot more cases but people don't know how to report it, and may not even know they are a victim, or how to pursue it. And you don't know it happened until you look at a credit report or you get a call from a creditor asking why you didn't pay a bill. |
There's a whole underground network of people who buy and sell information. Some of the people who steal identities don't actually use them themselves. They turn around and sell them. |