We wanted to provide you informative research on identity theft statistics from a source that wasn’t selling something, an impartial 3rd party. So, we went to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and did some homework for you.
The Internet is arguably the largest shopping mall that has ever existed. With so many merchants trying to sell one thing or another, it is important for you to get accurate and reliable information before you pull out your wallet.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) developed and manages an anti-fraud database named Sentinel that keeps track of all kinds of scams. Don’t rush out and try to join this service, the information is only available to the law enforcement community. It’s a good guess that nearly every law enforcement group that deals with fraud and theft in the country belongs and reports to this database. Like most government reporting, there is a lag, probably due to sheer volume, with Sentinel reporting 2005 as most current.
For the year 2005, 37% of reported fraud was Identity Theft. Total fraud cases reported were 431,118. ID theft was just shy of 160,000 cases. Obviously, the larger metropolitan areas are responsible for the lions share.
During this same period, 61% of those filing a complaint with the FTC did not report the loss to the police. In our opinion, the evidence suggests that a primary reason is the size of losses. 71% occur under $500.00 of loss (not including any recovery or credit repair costs). Not to be too cynical but it’s hard to get a report written up in large city Police Departments for that amount without spending a lot of time, which many folks are not able or willing to do.
There is ample evidence to suggest that the better your credit is, or you want it to be, the more concerned you should be with protecting it. You can count on the fact that these numbers have increased since 2005 and that the risk to you has grown as well.