Identity Theft

Identity Theft Statistics

Identity theft statistics are revealing. In a recent Wall Street Journal poll, Americans claimed the loss of privacy was their greatest fear, beating out terrorism, global warming and overpopulation among other contenders.

And there are plenty more identity theft statistics. A recent poll found that almost 90% of people were worried about priacy threats, and increase from only 34% a few decades ago. Those polled were nearly unanimous in their beliefs that personal information was vulnerable to misuse. And more than three quarters of them admitted they had declined to answer questions from a business because they thought the questions were too personal.

People have good reason to fear. Identity theft statistics show that the information age coupled with the easy credit available in the last decade has led to the proliferation of a crime that exploits the lack of consumer control over who can access their private personal financial information and how the information is protected.

Identity theft statistics are scary and getting worse. In one year, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General Fraud Hotline got more than 60,000 calls alleging improper SSN use.

Identity theft statistics reported by the General Accounting Office revealed that over 90% of all the arrests made by Financial Crimes Division of the US Secret Service were related to identity theft. In addition, the Secret Service said that losses to both individuals and banks and other financial institutions are approaching $1 billion annually.

According to Postal Inspection identity theft statistics, a significant portion of identity fraud was undertaken by organized crime groups, particularly to engage in drug trafficking, and that scope of the crimes was nationwide.

Trans Union Corporation which is one of 3 major credit agencies serving the US has identity theft statistics that show that 66% of customer inquiries to its fraud victim department had something to do with identity theft. The number of inquiries increased from an average of less than 3,000 per month to more than 43,000 per month in a 5 year period.

Identity theft statistics shared by VISA USA and MasterCard reveal that fraud losses incurred by their network of banks were hundreds of millions of dollars each year. MasterCard said monetary losses related to identity theft represented over 95% of its overall fraud losses.

A new FTC hotline is already logging more than 3,000 calls every week...and most consumers aren't even aware of it's existence. FTC identity theft statistics show more than a fourfold increase in identity theft complaints between in a two-year span.

There are more identity theft statistics that show the severity of the problem like the fact that one in every five Americans or a member of their family has been an identity theft victim. With identity theft statistics like these, it would be foolish to think it can't happen to you. Take some time to read some of the identity theft prevention articles on this website and implement the suggestions.