Identity Theft Statistics Are More Than Numbers

Each report added to the identity theft statistics represents someone’s life. 

The victim may not have been murdered or physically maimed as a result of the crimes against their identity. Yet their life may have been altered forever because of it. Imagine life after the very thing that has carried you through life has been altered and possibly destroyed. Your name could be forever tarnished through no fault of your own. Identity theft crimes have the ability to ruin anyone’s future.

The identity theft statistics study report for 2007 was released on Sept.29, 2008.

If you are between the ages of 18 and 49 you are in the highest risk groups of becoming a victim of identity theft. Theft victims in these age brackets during 2007 account for 68% of the total attacked. Where the person lived and where the criminal activity happened tended to cover multiple states and various types of locations.

Financial victimization is still the majority of identity theft occurrences. 

Over half of the identity theft crime cases were acts of financial fraud with a total of 57% reporting their personal information used to apply for lines of credit. An additional 2% resulted in criminal charges to the owner of the identity that was stolen. Another 2% reported experiencing issues with the government. Utilities and cable TV accounts opened fraudulently tallied 13% of the surveyed identity theft statistics for 2007.

Combination crimes account for 19% of reported identity theft cases. 

The commonly reported crime combinations of compromised identity information were: financial and criminal use (7%), financial and government (9%), and all three at once (3%). The use of stolen identities to apply for government aid and relief has risen since 2006.  The ITRC, who surveys the identity theft statistics, makes special note of fraudulent application for government assistance and programs using stolen identities.

Do not feel false security in the available organizations stating restoration resources. 

It took a full 12 months to restore an identity in 2007 over cases studied for  2006. Credit reporting agencies failed to remove these derogatory items at all for 32% of the victims and even re-entered the bad entries for 31% of them. Victim cases studied for the identity theft statistics results also report 22% who still have their social security number still connected with another person’s credit file and 19% had their victim’s fraud alert totally ignored.

The same identity theft statistics study reports resulting increased costs to victims. 

Many experience having to pay increased insurance premiums for the risk they present to insurers. Other aftermath effects reported by victims of identity theft in 2007 include having to pay increased interest rates on any current credit card accounts. There is also the problem of not being able to get a criminal record erased from your name. These three things alone have the power to totally destroy an innocent person’s life.

These stated percentages from The Aftermath 2007 report are just a sampling. 

The importance cannot be stated emphatically enough. Your identity means more to people in 2008 than ever before in history. You need to become knowledgeable and arm yourself, for you are your only defense. The reasoning concerning the massive of protecting and preventing the theft or compromise of your identity grows larger with an eroding financial system. Read the full text of Identity Theft: The Aftermath 2007 before you too are counted in this year’s identity theft statistics.