Despite the hype around hacking into corporate networks for financial gain - whose spectacular nature means it gets a lot of media attention - identity theft could be something as simple as rooting around in the garbage at the back of a supermarket for credit card receipts, according to Trujilio. He heads a global company who has made a business out of making sure critical information is destroyed before it is thrown into the garbage.

In fact, the traditional forms of identity theft, such as dumpster diving, are still the most widely used. The real boon to identity thieves is the ease with which the stolen information can be used, Trujilio told ZDNet Australia .

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