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IDENTITY THEFT

  • In 2008, the incidence of identity fraud rose for the first time in five years, to nearly 10 million victims up from 8.1 million in 2007.[1]
  • In 2008, a lost or stolen wallet, checkbook, or credit card was the primary source of personal information theft in the 35 percent of cases where the victim could identify the source of data compromise.[2]
  • Of identity theft cases where the perpetrator was identified, 13 percent were cases of "friendly theft," perpetrated by friends, family members, or in-home employees.[3]
  • In cases where the victim identified the source of data compromise, 89 percent were perpetrated through traditional, offline channels, and not via the Internet.[4]
  • In 2006, 45 percent of identity theft victims discovered the misuse of information less than one month after the first occurrence. Sixty-nine percent of victims discovered it within the first year, and 11 percent of identity theft victims did not discover the crime for two to four years.[5]
  • The Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel Network received over 1.2 million complaints in 2008: 52 percent on fraud, 26 percent on identity theft, and 22 percent about other matters.[6]
  • Of the identity theft victims who made complaints to the Federal Trade Commission in 2008, 65 percent did not notify a police department; 27 percent notified a police department, and a report was taken; and 6 percent notified a police department, and a report was not taken.[7]
  • In 2008, the FTC received 643,195 fraud complaints, with reported losses of more than $1.8 billion. The median loss was $440.[8]
  • In 2008, for all fraud complaints to the FTC that included a loss, the most common payment methods were credit card (35 percent), wire transfer (24 percent), and bank account debit (19 percent).[9]
  • For all fraud complaints to the FTC in 2008, 63 percent of scammers made initial contact with the victim over the Internet (52 percent by e-mail and 11 percent through a Web site). Only 7 percent of first contacts were made by phone.[10]
  • The largest group of fraud victims were ages 40 to 49 (26 percent). Eight percent of victims were age 60 or older.[11]
  • The largest groups of identity theft victims were ages 20 to 29 (24 percent) and 30 to 39 (23 percent). Twelve percent of victims were ages 60 and older.[12]
  • In 2007, 17 percent of identity theft victims reported that the perpetrator had used their information in non-financial ways such as using the victim's name when caught committing a crime, using the victim's name to obtain government documents such as a driver's license or Social Security card, or using the victim's name to rent housing, obtain medical care, or file a fraudulent tax return.[13]
  • In 2007, fake check scams, in which scammers pay for goods or services with bad checks and then instruct the victim to wire part of the money back to them, were the top Internet-related fraud complaint, constituting 29 percent of all Internet fraud complaints, with an average loss of $3,310.87.[14]
  • Fake check scams were also the number one telemarketing fraud complaint, constituting 58 percent of all telemarketing fraud complaints, with an average loss of $3,854.78.[15]
  • In 2005, 6.4 million households in the United States (6 percent) discovered that at least one household member had been a victim of identity theft.[16]
  • One in 10 households that earned $75,000 or more was victimized, the highest rate of any income group.[17]
  • In 2005, 76 percent of households experiencing identity theft reported that the misuse of their identity had stopped by the time of the interview, while 19 percent reported the problems persisted.[18]
  • Urban or suburban households were more likely than rural households to have a member experience identity theft (6 percent of urban and suburban households versus 4 percent of rural households).[19]
  • About 7 in 10 victimized households experienced an identity theft-related loss, and the average loss was $1,620.[20]

[1] Javelin Strategy and Research, "2009 Identity Fraud Survey Report: Consumer Version," (Pleasanton, CA: Javelin, 2009), 5, http://www.idsafety.net/report.html (accessed August 19, 2009).

[2] Ibid., 7.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Federal Trade Commission, "Identity Theft Victim Complaint Data, January 1 – December 31, 2006," (Washington, DC: GPO, 2007), 11, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/downloads/clearinghouse_2006.pdf (accessed September 28, 2009).

[6] Federal Trade Commission, "Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book for January – December 2008," (Washington, DC: FTC, 2009), 3, http://www.ftc.gov/sentinel/reports/sentinel-annual-reports/sentinel-cy2008.pdf (accessed August 20, 2009).

[7] Ibid., 12.

[8] Ibid., 3.

[9] Federal Trade Commission, "Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data: January – December 2008," 8.

[10] Ibid., 9.

[11] Ibid., 10.

[12] Ibid., 13.

[13] Federal Trade Commission, "Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data: January – December 2007," (Washington, DC: FTC, 2008), calculated from data on p. 13, http://www.ftc.gov/sentinel/reports/sentinel-annual-reports/sentinel-cy2007.pdf (accessed August 20, 2009).

[14] National Fraud Information Center, "2007 Top 10 Internet Scams," (Washington, DC: National Consumers League, 2008), http://www.fraud.org/internet/2007internet.pdf (accessed August 20, 2009).

[15] National Fraud Information Center, "2007 Top 10 Telemarketing Scams," (Washington, DC: National Consumers League, 2008), http://www.fraud.org/telemarketing/2007telemarketing.pdf (accessed August 20, 2009).

[16] Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Identity Theft, 2005," (Washington, DC: GPO, 2007), 1, http://www.ojp.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/it05.pdf (accessed September 28, 2009).

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ibid., 5.

[19] Ibid., 1-2.

[20] Ibid., 1.
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