Drug addicts on to ID theft

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Methamphetamine addicts in the United States and Canada reportedly are resorting to identity theft using the Internet, reports USA Today.

Addicts who are adept at stealing personal information from mailboxes to pay for their habits are hacking into personal computers to steal information, a Canadian police officer told USA Today.

In the United States, the problem is getting worse in the West and Midwest, Robert Brown, agent-in-charge of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, told the newspaper.

He said meth addicts also are participating in e-mail scams and selling stolen goods on auction sites. He warned that many of the addicts are employed by ID theft rings run by non-drug users.