"Identity theft" is the criminal act of assuming someone else's identity for some type of gain, normally financial. Identity theft, considered one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States, affects an estimated 900,000 new victims every year. Although thieves use a variety of methods to commit identity theft, authentication techniques are improving. Technology will continue to play a vital role in overcoming identity theft by improving ways that individuals and organizations conduct financial transactions and by increasing authentication methods. Authentication can help verify the identity of the individual processing the access device (credit or debit card) or personal check. When individuals use a debit card to complete point-of-sale transactions with a merchant, they authenticate their identity by entering a personal identification number (PIN) into the keypad terminal. Personal checks also could function in connection with keypads. Companies could require the customer to provide a PIN prior to the completion of the financial transaction. A terminal that can integrate the check verification process with electronic funds transfer (EFT) platforms significantly increases the capacity to authenticate true account holders. The check verification companies and financial enterprises that provide EFT platforms might be able to move toward a PIN authentication system. If merchants and the PIN authentication system remain separate entities, conducting business will be more secure. The next generation of authentication most likely will occur in the area of biometrics. Biometrics accurately captures an individual's unique physical attributes, such as fingerprints, voice, eyes, face, and written signature, in electronic format. 29 notes