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Identity Theft Up 22 percent, Hits 5-Year High
July 17, 2009 in Industry News
Identity theft has topped the Federal Trade Commission’s list of consumer complaints for the past eight years.
Now, a stunning new survey shows a record 9.9 million Americans were victims of identity theft last year – a shocking 22% increase over the prior year – according to Javelin Strategy & Research. This news mirrors a just-released report from the FTC that cites a 21% increase in identity theft complaints during the same period.
These studies send a clear message: in the wake of the global economic crisis, identity theft is a big business. It’s up to consumers to take proactive steps to help protect themselves.
According to the survey, more than one in every ten victims knew the person who stole their identity. To make matters worse, these “friendly frauds” went undetected longer, had longer periods of misuse and cost consumers who knew the perpetrator more than double the expenses experienced by victims who didn’t know their identity thief.
In this information age, many consumers could potentially be at risk, however, the Javelin survey revealed that women are 26% more likely to be victims than men. It also took women almost twice as long to detect I.D. theft than men, with women learning of the theft in 83 days on average, compared to 45 days for men.
The survey names higher income consumers (house-holds with combined incomes of $75,000 or more) to be at higher risk.
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