Identity theft is a serious crime. It occurs when someone uses your personal information, such as your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. Recently, identity thieves have been sending phony e-mail and text messages in an attempt to lure customers into divulging personal or financial information (a practice known as "phishing"). Many of these e-mail or text messages feature familiar language and company logos, and some may even go as far as showing exact copies of company website pages. The messages and websites attempt to trick people into providing personal information such as user name, log-on ID, password, credit card number, account information, Social Security number, and other sensitive information.