Authorities in Western states say that many methamphetamine users now apply the energy and focus caused by the drug to the detail-oriented crime of identity theft, sometimes putting in long hours akin to a full-time job, the New York Times reported July 11.

Police in cities like Denver are starting to put together meth use and a rise in other crimes, like theft from mailboxes and garbage cans, typical of the information-gathering needed for identity-theft crimes. Meth users often steal check or credit-card numbers to generate funds to buy drugs or chemicals to make more meth.

Those law-enforcement officials say that while identity theft is usually associated with big computer schemes, meth use is emerging as the crime's more gritty reality. "Anybody I knew that did meth was also doing fraud, identity theft or stealing mail," said Tammie Carroll, a former meth addict from Denver.  "We helped each other out, whatever we needed to do that day. They all had their own little role."

"Five days a week we did it," said Carroll. "It was like a job."

Although it is possible that identity thieves who use meth are merely easier to nab and prosecute, police and treatment professionals interviewed believe the link is deeper. 

Identity theft and methamphetamine use and addiction complement each other for a number of reasons, from the nature of the drug's high to the fact that many meth labs are in rural areas where addicts can steal mail from unlocked boxes. Acetone, a chemical used in meth labs, also can be used to "wash" checks so they can be written again.

"Crack users and heroin users are so disorganized and get in these frantic binges, they're not going to sit still and do anything in an organized way for very long," said UCLA addiction researcher Richard Rawson. "Meth users, on the other hand, that's all they have, is time. The drug stimulates the part of the brain that perseverates on things. So you get people perseverating on things, and if you sit down at a computer terminal you can go for hours and hours."

"Going and stealing money from people is too risky," said "D," a former meth addict and identity thief from Montana. "With this, I was sitting in my car at a bank, I could drive away if I wanted to. That's the only way I would have ever considered because I felt it was more safe."