A fraudster who sifts through mailboxes, dumpsters and other refuse receptacles for personal identifying information found on credit card receipts, discarded junk mail credit card offers, medical records, employment records, etc. This information—name, address, credit card number, Social Security number, etc—is then used to fraudulently apply for credit cards or to illegally use existing legitimate credit card information to make fraudulent on-line purchases, posing as the actual cardholder.