Identity theft happens everywhere

EPIDEMIC OF CRIME-Many Americans have been victims of identity or credit theft, according to Donna Larkin, who spoke during a luncheon meeting of the Westlake Village Republican Women Federated. It takes the average person 18 months to realize they may have been a victim, and it takes about 600 hours to fix it or $1,400 to hire a company to complete the same work. (For more on identity theft, please see related articles on pages 18 and 19.) BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers