But it's an article that should alarm all Americans.

Privacy advocates say the outsourcing of files that include Social Security numbers and complete credit histories could lead to a surge in identity theft because U.S. laws cannot be enforced overseas.

The article's author correctly points out that foreign countries are devoid of laws protecting piracy but glosses over another charge. A credit bureau lobbyist spokesman, labeling critics against offshore relocation of such functions as "xenophobic", misses a more essential truth. It isn't that I think Hindus are "less safe" - it's that conditions in countries like India are inducive to impropriety. Bribes and kickbacks in developing countries are standard operating procedure and there is no doubt that for a small pittance, sensitive information would be readily given up by foreign nationals. Granted, there's no guarantee that a U.S. operation can provide a 100% warranty against such malfeasance. But here workers don't have to buy the families of electric utility workers dinner to keep the power from getting yanked out either.