Chris Hansen went undercover to investigate credit card fraud and identity theft, and the results were aired last night on Dateline NBC. The heart of the problem is people stealing credit card and banking information, selling it to people overseas, who eventually use the info illegally to buy merchandise such as electronics.

The story began in chat rooms, where people are actually brokering personal information. There are also certain “code words” that retailers can put on their websites, which let these thieves know that they accept stolen credit card numbers.

Information is usually obtained by a hacker who gets into the computer systems of large retailers, like TJMaxx. That company had the credit card information of 45 million customers stolen.

Hansen got a credit card issuer to issue valid credit card numbers to be used as part of the sting. Hansen then offered the “stolen” credit card numbers to online thieves, who used them to buy merchandise online. He tracked down the merchandise and started asking questions.

The number of people involved in this type of theft is staggering. Some are finding easy marks in the U.S. who will receive the goods bought with the stolen credit cards, and then ship them overseas. (Many retailers don’t ship overseas, so a U.S. connection is needed to facilitate the theft.)

Consumers are encouraged to take a look at this story. They need to know how easy it is for their banking information to be compromised. Cleaning up from identity theft and credit card fraud can be long and painful. The first step toward stopping this crime is awareness.

Interesting side note: If someone uses your credit card number illegally, that is credit card theft and not identity theft. Identity theft only occurs when someone uses your identity (poses as you) to illegally obtain a loan or credit card in your name. Consumers often confuse the two.