Identity theft is a severe crime that we all need to be conscious of. In this article we look at a number of figures representing this crime in order to provide you with a better idea of this offense and how important it's to protect yourself against it.
Identity theft was very first pointed out in literature in the 1990's, studies demonstrated that in between 2001 and 2002 there was an 11-20% improve in this offense, whilst in between 2002 and 2003 this figure experienced enhanced to 80%.
The Javelin/Better Company Bureau survey from January 2006 showed that there is a decrease in identity theft between 2003 and 2006 although. In 2003 the grownup victims of identity theft living in the United States was 10.1 million in 2003, 9.3 million in 2005 and 8.9 million in 2006.
Identity theft statistics from the Javelin record nevertheless do show an improve in the fraud amount. In 2003 the one year fraud amount was $53.2 billion, $54.4 billion in 2005 and $56.6 billion in 2006.
Identity theft figures display that in Waco, Texas, alone there is a 700% increase in identity theft instances in between 2004 and 2005.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that in a six month period in 2004, a complete of 3.6 million households were impacted by identity theft.
Identity theft may also have severe consequences for companies. Identity theft figures show that it might price a company up to $90,000 or much more when just one laptop is stolen. These costs include fines, credit monitoring, public relations harm manage and class action litigation.
45% of all identity theft instances are caused by stolen laptops. The second most frequent issue was data leaks from records lost by third component company partners or outsourcing companies. This second component makes up about 29% of all the cases.
The Identity Theft Resource Center says that, "Studies on the total cost of identity theft differ. One study mentioned that identity theft cost U.S. Companies and consumers $56.6 billion in 2005."
A survey done by the Identity Theft Resource centre within the spring of 2006 demonstrated some frightening results with regards to phishing. Out of 309 individuals surveyed, 165 individuals mentioned they did not know what phishing was, whilst only 77 people answered correctly. For much more info see http://www.preventidentitythefthelp.com/Identity_Theft_Protection on identity theft safety.
The Javelin report from 2005 however indicated that offline/traditional techniques of identity theft were nevertheless much more popular than on the internet methods. The identity theft statistics they gave were 68.2% offline and 11.6 online.
In conclusion, although the number of grownup victims of identity theft has decreased because 2003, the amounts involved have increased, and identity theft continues to be a really severe offense. Most criminals included in identity theft are still utilizing offline techniques but we ought to also be cautious of on the internet techniques such as phishing. The figures themselves might differ depending on different reports but the fact remains the exact same, these identity theft figures are a cause to inform yourself about identity theft and take much better precautions to guard yourself.
