Identity Theft – Do You Know What it Means to Your Financial Security?
Have you been a victim of identify theft? Unfortunately millions of people have.
Identity theft is a crime in which someone illegally obtains and uses another’s personal information. That information may include the other person’s name, date of birth, bank account information, social security number, or driver’s license number. This information is usually used for financial gain by the individual who wrongfully obtained the other person’s personal data. Identity theft results in identity fraud.
Identity theft is a serious problem. In 2008 identity theft increased 22% from 2007 and affected nearly 10 million people. Complaints of identity theft actually decreased from 2004 to 2006 in relationship overall to other fraud complaints. But according to FBI statistics it is the fastest growing crime in the US and the Federal Trade Commission says it is the fastest growing type of complaint.
The US Department of Justice Identity Theft 2005 report gathered its information from the National Crime Victimization Survey. The report contains a complete year’s worth of data after additional questions were included in the survey in July 2004. A sampling was taken of 40,000 individuals who were interviewed and these are some of the results:
1. About 1.6 million households experienced theft of their bank accounts excluding credit card accounts.
2. One point one million households were victim of abuse of personal information such as their name, address, social security number and other individual records.
3. Households earning $75,000 or more were subject to identity theft at a rate of 10% which is almost twice as much as households with incomes lower than $50,000.
4. The average total loss per household was $1,620.
5. The average cost to repair the damage done by identity theft is $500 but many people who have been victimized by identity theft end up paying nothing because of fraud protection programs that are offered by credit card companies and other financial institutions.
6. The most widely used way that identity theft is perpetrated is through wallets, purses, and paper documents that are stolen. This amounts to 43% of all identity theft. Information stolen from the Internet resulted in only 11% of the theft.
Now you know the facts and figures regarding identity theft. Since you are fully aware, read my next article to find out ways to reduce your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft.
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Tags: financial, fraud protection, identity theft, theftRelated posts
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