Ellis says that poor communication between law enforcement and secretaries of state, who often manage corporate filings, is one major obstacle to stopping identity theft. Since starting work for the State of Florida in May, Ellis says that she has improved communication between the Division and law enforcement. But bigger changes that can actually stop identity theft have been slower coming, she said. "Right now in Florida we still have fair faith filing. That means I can get on a computer and go and alter things on an LLC, NPO or corporation. I just need to send in the form and pay my $25 charge for the amendment," she said. "We've left ourselves wide open."

The loose security around business filings is no accident. In many states, secretaries of state are confined by law to a "ministerial" role with regard to business filings, without the authority to question the details of filings that meet the state's guidelines. When fraud occurs, secretaries of state are often hamstrung in investigating suspicious filings, according to a January, 2012 report by the (NASS).

That means that, despite increased awareness of the problem of identity theft, would-be identity thieves can easily exploit online registries of corporations to glean the information needed to impersonate the firm, and then abuse Web- and fax-based filing systems to hijack the firms' identities without concern about getting caught.

In Oregon, the problem has been identity thieves reinstating old mining companies to steal their corporate identity, said Tom Wrosch, that state's Commercial Registries Manager. In response, the state set up limits on how long a company could be dormant before it is reinstated, he said.

Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler said that his state has seen a spike in cases of corporate identity theft stretching back to 2009 and 2010, under his predecessor. The problem was big enough to become an issue in a hotly contested political race for the Secretary of State's seat, with Gessler promising to be more aggressive in combating corporate identity thieves if elected.