Identity Theft Reported by 11.7 Million Victims According To Government Survey

According to a press release from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), an estimated 11.7 million people were victims of identity theft during the two years prior to being surveyed in 2008, and the financial losses due to the identity theft totaled more than $17 billion.

The findings are based on the 2008 Identity Theft Supplement (ITS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The ITS surveyed over 56,000 persons age 16 or older in the U.S. about the types of identity theft experienced in a two-year period.

In the survey, “identity theft” was defined as the attempted or successful misuse of an existing account, such as a debit or credit account, misuse of personal information to open a new account, or misuse of personal information for other fraudulent purposes.

Other key findings of the survey include (figures are estimates):

-6.2 million victims experienced the unauthorized use or attempted use of an existing credit card account, the most prevalent type of identity theft.

-4.4 million victims reported the misuse or attempted misuse of a banking account, such as a debit, checking, or savings account.

-1.7 million victims experienced the fraudulent misuse of their information to open a new account, and

-618,900 victims reported the misuse of their information to commit other crimes, such as fraudulently obtaining medical care or government benefits or providing false information to law enforcement during a crime or traffic stop.

-16 percent of all victims experienced multiple types of identity theft during the two-year period.

-23 percent of all victims suffered an out-of-pocket financial loss due to the victimization, with the average out-of-pocket financial loss being $1,870.

-40 percent of victims had some idea about how their identifying information was obtained.

Following publication, the report – Victims of Identity Theft, 2008 (NCJ 231680) – can be found at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov.

The story serves as a reminder of why the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of consumers used in background checks must be protected from threats like identity theft.