Identity Theft in America: How Many People Are Affected? [Survey]

Identity Theft in America: How Many People Are Affected? [Survey]

Hi there! Identity theft is a crime that can truly disrupt your life – it happened to me early in my career. As a cloud data security expert with over a decade of experience, I‘ve seen firsthand how prevalent identity theft is today.

That‘s why I wanted to shed more light on this topic by conducting a survey of 1,000 people‘s experiences with identity theft. The results reveal how common identity fraud is, how thieves access personal information, and the recovery process for victims.

In this article, I‘ll share key findings from the survey, as well as my insights into preventing identity theft in today‘s digital age. Let‘s dive in!

Key Survey Findings

First, let‘s look at some of the key statistics the survey uncovered:

• 51% of people surveyed know someone personally who has experienced identity theft.

• 18% of respondents have been identity theft victims themselves.

• Victims report identity theft cost them $2,750 on average in direct losses and recovery efforts.

• Over a quarter of victims don‘t know how their personal information was compromised.

• 46% of victims resolved their ID theft issues within one month, but 27% are still dealing with problems.

I found it particularly concerning that over a quarter of victims can‘t even identify how their data was accessed. As cybercriminals get more sophisticated, we sometimes never find out how they breached our defenses.

But the good news is that many people discover identity theft quickly thanks to fraud monitoring and take steps to limit the damage. Now let‘s explore the prevalence and impacts of ID theft in more detail.

How Common Is Identity Theft Today?

When combined, a staggering 51% of those surveyed said identity theft has happened to either themselves, a family member, friend, or coworker.

And according to a 2022 Javelin Strategy & Research report, around 15 million Americans were victims of identity fraud last year alone.

To put that into perspective, about 1 in every 43 consumers had their identity misused – the highest level since Javelin began tracking identity fraud in 2004.

Here are some other statistics that demonstrate how ubiquitous identity theft is today:

• In 2021, there were 1.4 million reports of identity theft and fraud to the FTC. However, many cases go unreported so this is likely just the tip of the iceberg.

• Between 2015 and 2021, there was a109% increase in the number of exposed consumer records containing sensitive personally identifiable information (PII).

• The amount lost by victims jumped from $13 billion in 2020 to $52 billion in 2021.

• Credit card fraud is one of the most common forms – 70% of identity theft cases involved credit card fraud.

• Government documents/benefits fraud (36%) and employment or tax-related fraud (27%) were the second and third most common types.

• Victims‘ out-of-pocket costs averaged $1,738 in 2021. But costs are trending up, rising from just $500 in 2020.

As you can see, virtually no one is immune to the risk of identity theft today. It‘s impacting more consumers every year at great personal and financial cost.

How Thieves Access Your Personal Information

For identity thieves to commit fraud, they first need to access your sensitive personal information. This is how survey respondents reported their data was compromised:

Physical theft of documents, device skimming, and data breaches appear to be some of the most prevalent data access methods. But as you can see, thieves use a wide range of tactics to get your info.

Now, we all know to guard our wallets and shred documents containing PII. But data breaches represent a prime vulnerability that is largely out of our control yet exposes millions each year.

According to the 2022 Identity Fraud Study:

• 1 in 5 identity fraud victims had their data compromised in a data breach.

• The number of megabreaches (100M+ records) doubled from 2020 to 2021.

With 4,215 data breaches in 2021 exposing over 4.5 billion records, our info is constantly at risk. Even if you have good personal security habits, your data is likely already out there.

Proactively monitoring your credit and accounts for suspicious activity gives you the best odds of catching fraud early if your info was involved in a breach.

How Thieves Use Your Stolen Identity

Once identity thieves have your personal information, they can perpetrate all types of crimes under your name – almost always for financial gain.

According to victims, here are some of the most common ways thieves exploit stolen identities:

As you can see, directly draining money from financial accounts and opening new fraudulent accounts are the most prevalent identity theft-fueled crimes.

Criminals can do tremendous financial damage once they have access to your bank account numbers, Social Security number, or other PII. A few ways identities are commonly abused include:

• Credit card fraud – Charging purchases or obtaining new cards

• Bank account theft – Transferring/withdrawing funds

• Government benefits fraud – Applying for benefits like healthcare or unemployment

• Tax fraud – Filing tax returns using your identity

• Utility/phone fraud – Opening new accounts in your name

• Loan fraud – Taking out payday loans or other predatory lending

• Employment fraud – Using your ID for work

• Health care fraud – Obtaining medical services

In 2021, credit card fraud produced the highest victim losses at $12.5 billion. Bank account takeovers were second at $10 billion in losses.

And distressingly, once thieves have your Social Security number and other foundational ID elements, they can continue abusing your identity repeatedly over months or years.

How Victims Discover Identity Theft

Considering the myriad ways thieves can misuse your identity, how do most people discover they‘ve been victimized?

According to victims, here is how they learned their identity had been stolen:

Credit monitoring alerts are vital – these services alert consumers when a new account is opened or a change is made to an existing account. This lets victims identify and address fraudulent activity before major damages occur.

Monitoring your own accounts routinely is also crucial. Don‘t just rely on text alerts – log in to review recent transactions and statements frequently.

You may catch something amiss even before your bank triggers an alert. I‘d recommend checking all your financial accounts at least weekly.

How Long Does Recovery From ID Theft Take?

Here comes the unpleasant part – recovering from identity theft. Once discovered, victims must contact companies to close fraudulent accounts, file police reports, monitor credit regularly, and watch out for new suspicious activity.

This process takes significant time for most victims:

As you can see, only 46% fully resolved their identity theft issues within one month. About 1 in 5 need at least 6 months to recover. And over a quarter of victims are still dealing with the fallout today.

Why does identity theft recovery take so long? Here are a few reasons:

• Disputing fraudulent charges and accounts is time-consuming – You have to file disputes individually with each company.

• Companies are sometimes negligent in addressing identity theft cases. They may drag their feet closing fraudulent accounts or removing charges.

• Damages like hits to your credit score can take a long time to repair – sometimes years.

• Identity thieves may continue using your info even after initial accounts are shut down, requiring continued vigilance.

• Significant fraud cases often must be investigated by authorities, drawing out the process.

• Banks and creditors will almost never remove liability for fraudulent debts, leaving victims to pay costs not covered by identity theft insurance.

• Technical glitches can delay fraud alerts and other monitoring protections, allowing more damage to accumulate before discovery.

The difficult reality is recovering from identity theft takes serious time and persistence. But standing firm and continuing to report fraudulent activity is critical to minimize damages.

How Can You Keep Your Identity Secure?

So how can you stack the odds in your favor to avoid becoming an identity theft victim yourself? While nothing is foolproof given the sophistication of cybercriminals today, here are my top tips:

Lock down your privacy settings on social media. Disable location tagging and restrict your posts from public view. Social networks provide a goldmine for identity thieves hunting for PII.

Avoid unprotected public WiFi networks when accessing sensitive accounts. Connecting to public hotspots exposes your browsing to eavesdropping by hackers.

Use a virtual private network (VPN) when accessing personal accounts and shopping sites on public WiFi. Encrypting your connection keeps snoops from intercepting your login credentials and data.

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on important accounts whenever possible. 2FA generates a unique secondary one-time code during login for extra protection.

Carefully vet any urgent-sounding emails requesting personal information. Data-harvesting phishing scams are rampant – call the company directly if you are unsure.

Check your credit reports routinely for any accounts or charges you don‘t recognize. AnnualCreditReport.com provides free reports from each major credit bureau.

Consider credit freezes with Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian when not applying for new credit. Freezes restrict access to your credit reports unless you explicitly lift the freeze.

Set up transaction alerts on bank accounts and credit cards to be notified of all activity. Log in frequently yourself as well – don‘t just depend on alerts.

Take your time to understand privacy policies before providing personal data to apps and sites. See if alternative contact details like a phone number can be used instead.

Use strong unique passwords and change them every 60-90 days for better security. Never re-use passwords between accounts. Consider a password manager app as well.

In summary, be stingy with sharing personal data, leverage various fraud protections, and actively monitor your accounts routinely. Combining prudent precautions with vigilance is your best defense against identity thieves.

The Outlook for Identity Theft

Looking ahead, I expect identity theft cases and losses to keep rising over the next 5 years as more of our lives – financial, medical, work, social – move online. Cybercriminals will keep innovating their techniques faster than many defenses can keep pace.

However, increases in identity verification standards across industries, more sophisticated credit monitoring, and greater consumer awareness around data privacy may help curb surges in identity theft to some degree.

I predict credit card and new account fraud facilitated by data breaches will remain highly prevalent, given the wealth of PII already out there. Synthetic identity theft – where pieces of real identities are combined to fabricate a new identity – is also on the rise and difficult to prevent.

And as technologies like cryptocurrency expand that allow more anonymity, more complex identity theft schemes will emerge that are harder to trace.

But consumers also have far more control over their personal data than ever before. I urge everyone to take an active role in monitoring your credit routinely, being judicious about sharing private details online, and learning how to leverage available fraud protections.

Combined with more rigorous enterprise data governance, advanced biometrics for verification, and greater consumer awareness, hopefully we can make major headway against identity thieves in the years ahead.

The Battle Against Identity Theft Continues

As this survey demonstrates, identity theft remains a ubiquitous threat in America impacting millions each year. My advice as an identity theft victim myself – take it seriously and take steps now to protect yourself.

Catching fraud early limits damages, and being proactive keeps many thieves at bay entirely. Together, let‘s push for better legal protections and make identity theft a high-risk, low-reward crime.

Thanks for taking the time to read my insights on this critical issue. Please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions!

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