No One Is Immune From Identity Theft Posted by Brent at 12/07/07 04:44 PM

No One Is Immune From Identity Theft
"Whether you're from Malibu or Manhattan, Tacoma or Tallahassee, no one is immune to identity theft," said Lydia B. Parnes, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Source: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/11/idtheft.shtm

8.3 Million Fall Victim to Identity Theft
A new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) study puts the number of US adults who become victims of Identity Theft (ID) at 8.3 million a year. Link to FTC study http://www.ftc.gov/os/2007/11/SynovateFinalReportIDTheft2006.pdf
Consumers Union estimates that’s over 22.000 victims per day and 15 victims for every minute of every day.

The Numbers
According to the FTC, 3.3 million consumers were victims of existing non-credit card fraud, such as checking, savings and telephone accounts, 3.2 million were victims of existing credit card fraud and 1.8 million were victims of new account and other fraud, when a thief opens all manner of new accounts using the victim’s personal information.

Time and Money
New account ID theft continues as the most troublesome for consumers. Consumers whose personal information was used in the creation of new accounts and other fraud spent the most amount of time and money disentangling themselves from the problems created by ID theft. Nearly one third (31%) spent 40 hours or more resolving problems caused by ID theft, another 10% spent 100 hours or more and 5% of victims reported that they spent 1,200 hours clearing their name of fraudulent activity. One quarter (25%) of all new account victims reported expenses of at least $1,000. Ten percent of new account victims experienced out of pocket expense of $3,000.

Double Trouble
The non-monetary consequences of ID theft were very serious for many consumers. More than two-thirds (68%) of new account victims experienced at least one of the following problems as a result of fraud being perpetrated in their name; collection agency harassment, denial of new credit, unable to use existing credit cards, unable to obtain loans, difficulties opening or accessing bank accounts, having their utilities shut off, criminal investigation, arrest and being sued.

Other Findings
Notice of Security Breach helps. The FTC study showed that a majority of people who received a notice of a security breach (55%) took some action in response to that notice.
Only 16% of all victims were personally acquainted with the identity thief.
In addition to the time and money spent unraveling the fraud committed in their name, many consumers reported that the dispute resolution process was the most difficult part of the experience.
More than half (56%) of new account victims did not discover the fraud until after the first month, for another 24% it took more than six months to discover new account fraud.

Protect Yourself
A security freeze is the most effective tool against “new account” ID theft. Click on the link below to learn how to place a security freeze in your state. You can place a security freeze even you don’t live in a state with a freeze law by contacting the credit bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. www.consumersunion.org/SecurityFreeze.htm

Source: Federal Trade Commission – 2006 Identity Theft Survey Report, November 2007.

comments (2)

1 Posted by Jean Riddering at 12/08/07 09:42 AM

Around 1990 my purse was stolen by a troubled teen. Back then, no one was willing to help me. The police said it would be too much trouble. My witness wasn't reliable. The vendors who lost money wanted to blame me. I had to explain what happened for a long time to mortgage companies and other creditors. That Christmas eve a long line in a grocery store had to wait for a long time as we sorted out how I could pay for my groceries. To this day, I thank clerks who check my ID. I also tell my story to women who leave their purses unattended.

There were three victims in my story. Of course I was, the vendors were, and that troubled teen. She had been turning her life around. Unfortunately, my leaving my purse unattended was too tempting. She and her friends used my checkbook to buy items from clerks who were friends, from clerks who were inattentive and from greedy merchants who looked the other way. Because I was not allowed to confront her, she never faced the consequences of her act. I would see her watch me from across rooms. I watched her grades fail and her eventual slide completely back into her old lifestyle.

I realize I am not responsible for the decisions she made. However, we are all responsible for not setting up structures, and following through on them, that make it harder for people to profit from illegal activity. People who leave things laying around, people who see a crime and don’t speak up, store clerks who don’t check ID’s or copy the information for later use, employers who don’t question employees and customers about unusual transactions, and taxpayers who aren’t willing to pay to raise the level of service provided by overburdened law enforcement agencies are all responsible.

2 Posted by Carol at 12/10/07 10:06 PM

Remember the days before the internet? When you received your bills in envelopes thru the mail? Have you ever thought about that while a site is a secure site, there must be many, many people have access to the information you provide in the course of doing business via the net? Businesses are doing their best to end contact with other people, but they've not yet accomplished that. So, you might make a purchase over the net, but what do you know about the person you're giving your info to? And where is this virtual business located? Good luck trying to sue someone who's located in cyberspace.Maybe all of this new technology isn't so great at that..Before I got all of my checks returned by the bank,,,now I have to take the time and pay for the paper, ink & toner to print out a copy of my checks..Today I had a creditor tell me that some banks (& creditors)are charging as much as $15.00 so that we can give them instant access to our money? Maybe some identity theft can be avoided by planning ahead so bills can be paid by mail.

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