Identity theft statistics

Identity theft statistics

Identity theft statistics indicate that identity theft is the nation's faster growing crime.

ID theft statistics indicate that the three most commonly reported types of Identity Theft are credit card fraud, unauthorized phone or utility services and bank fraud. About 700,000 people in the United States may be identity victims each year.

Executing identity theft through the creation of fake IDs based on your information is relatively easy for sophisticated technology-enabled criminals. The ID theft villain seeks to uncover personal data such as your social security number, a state drivers license, your birth certificate, along with other data such as your address, your mother's maiden name, you children's names, PIN numbers, passwords, and so on.

ID theft statistics indicates the average victim spends 175 hours and $1,000 repairing identity theft damage. Market pressure increases current and future identity theft incidences. The problem for consumers is that the credit industry aggressively markets a myriad of credit facilities to any American over 18 years of age, without consideration of identity theft prevention protocols necessary to screen applicants and to teach them about prudent financial management. ID theft and privacy issues factored in the origins of the social security numbering system even in its gestation period during the 1930s. However, by the 1960s and 1970s, identity theft and privacy concerns were brushed aside as the IRS and private enterprise firms broadly endorsed the use of social security numbers as a tool identifying and profiling consumers.

Identity theft statistics from the US Federal trade Commission in 2001 indicate that 42% of complaints relate to identity theft. villains understand full well that the federal social security number is held and lists sold by the nation's largest credit bureaus such as Equifax or TransUnion or Experian which collectively maintain in excess of 450 million financial information files. With nearly 90% of the American population featured in these files which are freely traded amongst marketing firms, the illegal access sought by identity theft criminals has been made remarkably simple. Identity theft of college students offers even easier "pickings" for the identity theft perpetrators. To begin with, college students are inundated with credit card offers on a weekly basis and lack the experience in financial matters to contemplate identity theft risk factors. Careless by nature and forced to offer ID at every turn, college students regularly offer social security data for debit accounts, college course registrations, to even ordering take out or delivery food, oblivious to the need for identity theft protection.

Identity Theft based on fraudulent use of social security numbers includes identity theft victim from the ranks of the living and the dead. Remarkably, a recently expired person's social security number can be taken over by identity theft criminals, and new accounts created and plundered during the two to three month period under the federal database registry is amended.

If you believe that you've become an identity theft victim, then you need to immediately notify all financial institutions with which you have a current creditor-debtor relationship. Alerting financial institutions to possible identity theft fake ID or fraud does not guarantee either quick or effective responses on your behalf. The typical identity theft victim uncovers the fraud, and then must do the legwork, which could be thousands of hours, includes legal costs, in order to get credit ratings reinstated.

Identity theft and fraud via stolen or fake ID can be further researched within this web site. Additional public information resources on identity theft prevention include Identity Theft Resource Center or perhaps Privacy Rights.

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