One of the important uses of products and services provided by LexisNexis is to detect and prevent identity theft and fraud. In 2004, 9.3 million consumers were victimized by identity fraud. Credit card companies report $1 billion in losses each year from credit card fraud. Although the insidious effects of identity theft are fairly well known, until recently it was not fully appreciated that identity theft is part of the larger problem of identity fraud. Identity fraud, which encompasses identity theft, is the use of false identifiers, false or fraudulent documents, or a stolen identity in the commission of a crime. It is a component of most major crimes and is felt around the world today. As a result, both industry and government have asked LexisNexis to develop solutions to help address this evolving problem.