Credit scores are increasingly becoming a factor in qualifying prospective employees for a job. About four out of ten employers regularly run credit checks on prospective hires, according to research. For many of the 15 million unemployed Americans looking for a job, this easily turns into the proverbial Catch-22: They need a job to pay the bills and pull their credit score up, but they can’t get a job until they pay their bills and pull up their credit score.

Imagine this scenario: Under the cover of night, a thief parks outside your house. Without ever leaving his car, he breaks into your computer’s wireless network and makes off with your credit card information. The crime is performed with such stealth that you’ll remain blissfully unaware of the theft, until fraudulent charges appear on your credit card.

Welcome to the brave new world of wardriving.

It’s a common misperception that people amass credit card debt because they use their credit cards indiscriminately for frivolous purchases. However, according to a new report released in July 2009 by the non-profit research and advocacy group Demos, the story is not that simple. Rather, credit card debt more often accumulates when people are forced to turn to plastic to cover basic living expenses and medical costs.

Most of us are familiar with that comforting little padlock marking the security of online credit card payment forms. We take for granted that whatever coding lies behind that golden emblem will protect us from the underground networks of credit card thieves.