Bankruptcy

It?s Getting More Expensive to Have Your Identity Stolen

By guest-writer

A new report from Javelin Strategy & Research uncovers some potentially troubling numbers about the changing face of identity theft. Here?s a look at the report?s findings and some reminders about what you can do to protect yourself, your identity, and your credit.

• In total, fewer people were victimized by identity theft in 2010: The number of identity theft cases dropped by a reported 28 percent from 2009 to last year - reports in 2010 dipped to the 2007 level. Additionally, it seems the average dollar amount of fraud committed by identity thieves dropped slightly (from $4,991 in 2009 to $4,607 last year). The group speculates that a decrease in corporate data breaches can be credited with the per-case drop-off.
• More expensive fraud for individuals: While the total number of identity theft cases decreased last year, the cost of such incidents for victims rose. In fact, Javelin reports that the jump was large ? 63 percent ? up to $631 from $387 in 2009. This suggests that the types of identity theft being favored now are those that cost victims more (in the form of covering fraudulent debts, paying legal fees, etc.).
• New account fraud most popular: The report shows that new account fraud, one of the most difficult types of identity theft to detect, accounted for a whopping $17 billion last year, the largest amount in any category. New account fraud occurs when the thief opens a new bank or credit account with the victim?s identifying information; the other type of fraud, existing account fraud, dropped in popularity last year, to $13 billion dollars? worth, from $23 billion a year before.
• There?s a better chance you know the thief: It seems that in 2010, there was a seven percent increase in fraud perpetrated by thieves who knew their victims (including family members, friends and roommates). The report notes that those ages 25 to 34 are most likely to be victimized by this type of fraud.
• Sign of the times: The Javelin report suggests that, because identity theft crimes have changed in direct opposition to changing retail sales, the increase in identity theft could well be an indicator of economic hardship.

How Bad Can Identity Theft Be?

If you aren?t convinced by these numbers that identity theft can be a pain in the neck (and in the wallet), take a look at this story from ABC News, which details the saga of a man who battled for 17 years against an identity thief living across the country.

The victim found himself responsible for debts he never took on and even ended up in jail for a crime he didn?t commit. If that?s not reason enough to take steps to protect your sensitive information, consider this: despite federal protections, some bankruptcy filers still cite identity theft as one of the factors that pushes them to the bankruptcy court in the first place.

Full post as published by The Bankruptcy Blog on February 16, 2011 (boomark / email).