Despite the increasing awareness of identity theft among consumers and financial institutions, the identity-theft racket shows no signs of slowing. Reported losses from identity theft, currently responsible for over 40 percent of all fraud complaints, approached nearly $300 million last year. “True identity theft is a problem that goes far beyond simple credit-card fraud, against which consumers are fully protected, thanks to zero-liability laws and other regulations,” said Dave Collett, a spokesperson for MasterCard. All too often, consumers provide that needed information unknowingly through careless Web surfing and by using computers whose security is breached by virus and spyware infections.