Useful Statistics On Identity Theft

It's not hard to find useful statistics of identity theft on the Internet, yet the majority of all the information is scattered about the World Wide Web. In this article we will explore the very depth of America's newest crime: identity theft; it's the time old tradition of killing one's reputation, but with modern tools such as credit cards, bank accounts, and social security numbers added into the mix. So, if you happen to be one of the many Americans who don't find identity theft to be a very pleasant thing, go ahead and read on about just how many others share in your pain.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit organization with the mission of both informing the public and combating new waves of this terrible crime, it took about 330 hours on average for a victim to reconcile his/her stolen identity. According to the same study, 73% of all these fraudulent identity robberies includes the theft of a credit card, which is expected due to the high purchase power, ease of access, and nearly universal acceptability for purchases of goods. A mere 15% of those whose identities were stolen had found out by a business' initiative to inform the victim.

Luckily for the average American consumer, however, the average amount of funds stolen has decreased from a high $4,789.00 in 2003 to a much lower $1,882.00 in 2006. While those statistics of identity theft might seem like good news, the prevalence of I.D. theft has increased by 21% in 2008. The larger spread of ID theft covers for the loss in average number of US dollars stolen, so while the average money taken has shrank, more and more people are being affected by this modern age crime.

Only 38% to 48% of people actually find out about their personal information being stolen within the first three months; conversely, 9% to 18% don't discover this terrible crime had occurred until four years later. The grand majority of these crimes are used to open new credit-related accounts under the victim's name (66%), such as a brand new credit card. According to SpamLaws.org, 85% of victims feel rage or anger, the largest of all emotional responses reported for identity theft.

 

Regardless of all the statistics reported for ID theft, it is increasingly apparent that this new crime is becoming more and more rampant. The need for protection by either government agencies or private firms is also increasing directly with the statistics, so it is best to defend yourself just in case of an attack on your reputation. An identity is one of the most important things in modern society, and the new spike in these crimes is alarming at the very least.