| Yearly Reports of Identity Theft to the | | | | pieces of several people are used in order to |
| Federal Trade Commission: | | | | create an entirely new identity. Information |
| | | | may come in the form of an address from one |
| In 2007 identity theft accounted for 36 | | | | person, the social security number of another |
| percent of the 674,354 fraud and identity | | | | and employment or banking information from a |
| theft complaints (reported to the Federal | | | | third or fourth. |
| Trade Commission. | | | | |
| | | | Your Damages resulting from Identity Theft: |
| In 2005 -255,565 cases of identity theft were | | | | |
| reported to the FTC | | | | In a study conducted of 173 victims of |
| | | | identity theft by The Identity Theft Resource |
| In 2004 -246,847 cases of identity theft were | | | | Center specific damages were explored. In |
| reported to the FTC | | | | each case the victim's damages included: |
| | | | |
| In 2003 215,177 cases reported of identity | | | | - an extended period of time to correct their |
| theft were reported to the FTC | | | | credit status; |
| | | | |
| In 2001 CBS News reported that someone became | | | | - 85% of the victims found out about the |
| the victim of identity theft every 79 seconds | | | | theft when they attempted to apply for a job |
| (CBSnews.com, 1/25/01) | | | | or credit; |
| | | | |
| Between 1997 and 2005 the Federal Trade | | | | - victims are currently spending over 600 |
| Commission reported that over 3 million cases | | | | hours attempting to repair the damages to |
| of fraud and identity theft were reported to | | | | their credit |
| over 1400 law enforcement agencies in 19 | | | | |
| nations. Identity theft crimes are not | | | | - victims are spending money in the |
| limited to the United States but are | | | | approximate a amount of over $16,000 per |
| committed world wide. | | | | victim to repair their credit |
| | | | |
| Facts every consumer should know: | | | | - it is taking longer to remove negative, |
| | | | incorrect or falsified information from their |
| - Credit card fraud (26%) was the most common | | | | credit reports |
| form of reported identity theft followed by | | | | |
| phone or utilities fraud; (18%), bank fraud | | | | - many victims equate the emotional impact of |
| (17%), and employment fraud (12%). Other | | | | identity theft with that of a violent crime - |
| significant categories of identity theft | | | | in some cases similar to a rape as the |
| reported by victims were government documents | | | | violation can be that personal. |
| benefits fraud (9%) and loan fraud (5%). | | | | |
| (Federal Trade Commission Complaint Data) | | | | Identity theft is a serious crime. Damages |
| | | | result to individuals, banks, and businesses |
| - the majority of cases go unreported to | | | | as well as families. Imagine going to |
| Federal or local authorities | | | | purchase your new home to find out that your |
| | | | credit is damaged and now you are unable to. |
| - the most common age group affected by | | | | Imagine the time and money you will spend to |
| identity theft is 18-29 | | | | correct the problems associated with identity |
| | | | theft. Millions of dollars and Hundreds of |
| - the top 10 metropolitan areas affected by | | | | thousands of people in the United States and |
| identity theft include: Phoenix, AZ; Las | | | | millions worldwide are affected each year by |
| Vegas, NV; Miami, FL; San Francisco, CA; and | | | | identity theft. Victims, both personal and |
| Dallas, TX (2005) | | | | business must use valuable time, effort and |
| | | | resources to correct the situation, which in |
| - California had the most reported cases of | | | | some cases is beyond total repair. Damages |
| identity theft with a total of approximately | | | | are not only to your credit and your finances |
| 45,000 cases of identity theft (2005) | | | | but also to your emotional, physical, and |
| | | | psychological well being. |
| - the most common method of retrieving | | | | |
| information for use in identity theft is | | | | Reporting suspected identity theft is |
| through lost or stolen wallets, theft of | | | | essential to protecting yourself further and |
| mail, dumpster diving, and information | | | | protecting others. Reports should be filed |
| obtained through friends, family or consumer | | | | with local authorities, your State's Attorney |
| providers | | | | General's office and the Federal Trade |
| | | | Commission. Consumers need to not only |
| - another common method of obtaining your | | | | protect their information but by reporting |
| information is by "stealing" it at a business | | | | efforts at identity theft may be able to stop |
| that you may you frequent | | | | it from happening in the future. |
| | | | |
| New, Harder to Detect Form of Identity Theft | | | | Consumers can report ID theft to the FTC by |
| | | | calling the agency's toll-free number: |
| Synthetic identity theft occurs when bits and | | | | 877-438-4338. |