Identity theft is a very serious crime that everyone should know about. In this article, we look at a number of statistics about this crime to help you understand it and how important it is to protect yourself from it.
Identity theft was first written about in the 1990s. Studies showed that between 2001 and 2002, the number of identity thefts went up by 11–20 percent, and between 2002 and 2003, that number went up to 80 percent.
The Javelin/Better Business Bureau survey from January 2006 showed that, between 2003 and 2006, there was less identity theft. In 2003, there were 10.1 million adult victims of identity theft in the United States. In 2005, there were 9.3 million, and in 2006, there were 8.9 million.
Statistics from the Javelin report, on the other hand, show that fraud is on the rise. In 2003, fraud cost $53.2 billion, in 2005 it cost $54.4 billion, and in 2006 it cost $56.6 billion.
Statistics on identity theft show that between 2004 and 2005, the number of cases of identity theft in Waco, Texas, rose by 700%.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics said that 3.6 million households were affected by identity theft over the course of six months in 2004.
Identity theft can also hurt businesses in very bad ways. When just one laptop is stolen, identity theft can cost a company up to $90,000 or more, according to statistics. These fees include fines, keeping an eye on your credit, fixing any damage to your public relations, and class action lawsuits.
About 45% of all cases of identity theft happen because someone stole a laptop. The second most common problem was information getting out because business partners or outsourcing companies lost records. About 29% of all the cases are made up of this second part.
According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, "Studies disagree on how much identity theft costs in the long run. One study found that businesses and consumers in the U.S. lost $56.6 billion due to identity theft in 2005."
In the spring of 2006, the Identity Theft Resource Center did a survey about phishing, and the results were pretty scary. Out of 309 people who were asked, 165 said they didn't know what phishing was, while only 77 got it right. Identity theft protection can be learned more about at http://www.preventidentitythefthelp.com/Identity Theft Protection.
The Javelin report from 2005, on the other hand, showed that traditional, non-online ways of stealing identities were still more common than online ones. They said that 68.2% of identity thefts happen offline and 11.6% happen online.
Even though the number of adult identity theft victims has gone down since 2003, the amounts involved have gone up, and identity theft is still a very serious crime. Most people who steal identities still do it in person, but we should also be careful with online methods like phishing. Depending on which report you read, the numbers may be different, but the fact remains: these identity theft statistics are a reason to learn more about it and take better steps to protect yourself.
