According to USA TODAY, no one is safe from identity theft, not even the chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Chairman Ben Bernanke’s personal checking account was compromised in an identity-theft scheme after his wife’s purse, which contained her Social Security card, checkbook, credit cards and IDs, was stolen last August. Shortly after, a thief began cashing checks on their bank account. The thefts helped fuel an ongoing investigation into a major identity theft ring.

The ring was responsible for more than $2.1 million in fraudulent charges, which involved at least 10 financial institutions. Clyde Austin Gray Jr., a suspected ringleader in the scams, pleaded guilty on July 22 in a federal court in Virginia. Authorities believe that Gray hired pick pockets then made counterfeit IDs so that they could conduct fraudulent bank transactions.

“Identity theft is a serious crime that affects millions of Americans each year,” Bernanke said in a statement. “Our family was but one of 500 separate instances traced to one crime ring. I am grateful for the law enforcement officers who patiently and diligently work to solve and prevent these financial crimes.”

According to a study by the Ponemon Institute, chief executives of companies value cybersecurity but often underestimate the frequency of cyberthreats their organization faces.

Forbes published the results of the survey, which was funded by cybersecurity firm Ounce Labs, and asked 213 senior executives about their perceptions of data breach risks. Among those respondents, just 17% of CEOs said their company faced attempts by cybercriminals to steal data at least once every hour, compared with 33% of other executives. By contrast, nearly 50% of CEOs said their company experienced an attack “rarely”–less than once a week–while only 32% percent of other executives reported the same frequency of cyberthreats.

The survey’s researchers suspect that CEOs’ staffs may not tell them the full extent of a company’s data risks. “Even in the most transparent of companies, there’s a bit of hesitance to give the CEO a report of vulnerabilities or even small breaches,” says Ponemon. “We don’t know how much filtering of bad news happens that keeps CEOs from hearing some of the darker secrets.”

The Associated Press reports that New York’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, is charging Tagged.com, a social networking site, with stealing the identities of more than 60 million Internet users around the world. He said he’s suing the company for deceptive marketing and invasion of privacy.

Cuomo alleged that Tagged acquired most of its users fraudulently, sending unsuspecting recipients e-mails that urged them to view private photos posted by friends. The message read: “(name of friend) sent you photos on Tagged.”

When recipients tried to access the photos, they become new members of the site — without ever seeing any photos. Recipients’ e-mail address books would then be stolen, said Cuomo.

The attorney general said a lawsuit would seek to stop Tagged from engaging in “fraudulent practices” and to seek fines.

Illegally downloaded music could result in identity theft, according to the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

The newspaper reports that federal prosecutors believe Seattle resident Frederick Eugene Wood used peer-to-peer file sharing software — often used to illegally swap music and videos online — to steal identifying information from other users’ computers. He specifically targeted parents whose children downloaded file-sharing software and unknowingly opened their computers to anyone on the Internet.

Wood is accused of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and computer crimes for his alleged involvement in a long-running scheme during which he obtained the personal information of at least 120 people around the country. He faces up to 22 years in prison if convicted as charged.

According to Sun-Sentinel.com, identity thieves are increasingly preying on unsuspecting job seekers by stealing personal information and using it to commit identity theft.

Identity thieves use all types of scams, including fake help-wanted ads, job-search services, and resume-posting Web sites, to trick people into handing over their data.

“There are so many people out there who are desperate to find a job,” said Linda Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit watchdog group. “Unfortunately, identity thieves are taking advantage of people in these uncertain times.”

Whether you’re registering with employment agencies, responding to ads, posting resumes or surfing career sites for work, it’s important to only give out your Social Security numbers and other personal data when it’s necessary and you’re sure it’s secure.