• Forbes.com, Monday, October 27, 2008 12 PM

As if getting your identity stolen weren't maddening enough. Forbes.com now reports that thanks to a glut of credit card and Social Security numbers available online, hackers may pay as little as 40 cents to acquire your most precious personal information.

The reason? Record hacks like last years breach at Fidelity National Information Services, in which a record 8.5 million identities were stolen, and the earlier hack of Designer Shoe Warehouse (1.4 million identities), have flooded the market, turning underground distribution channels into an overstocked pond.

A decade ago, credit card information commanded as much as $30 per card, but that number has dropped to a standard price today of $2 or $3, and as little as 40 cents, resulting in some data thieves actually sitting on their finds while waiting for the market to go up.

Read the whole story at Forbes.com »