Identity Theft Statistics - And How to Avoid Becoming One

In this article, I'll offer some statistics on ID theft, and I'll also give you some tips on protecting your own identity. Whether you take the do-it-yourself approach, or you pay a protection service to monitor your credit, the important thing is to be proactive and vigilant.

Identity theft statistics are pretty disturbing. When researching and writing this article, I didn't even realize how pervasive this problem is. I found the numbers disturbing, and you will probably have the same reaction. Here are some of the statistics I was able to find:

Some Disturbing Statistics on ID Theft

I've seen a lot of conflicting information surrounding the statistics of identity theft, the number of victims, etc. This could be the result of innocent misinterpretation, or a blatant example of marketing scare tactics. Whatever the case, I thought you would enjoy some straight facts for a change.

Here are some statistics I was able to uncover by using reliable data sources, such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and similar agencies.

• In 2007, the Consumer Sentinel (an FTC database) registered more than 800,000 complaints of fraud and identity theft crimes. This data comes from various law-enforcement agencies and is compiled by the FTC.
• In 2008, the number of complaints sent to the Consumer Sentinel database received more than 1.2 million fraud and identity theft complaints from the reporting agencies. In other words, there was a 50% increase in reported fraud and ID crimes from 2007 to 2008.
• In 2008, the most common form of identity theft was credit card fraud. This type of crime accounted for 20% of all complaints reported.
  
• Obviously, 2009 data is not available yet. But I predict another increase in identity theft statistics for this year. Why? Because economic hardships like our current recession usually correspond to an increase crime rates, and that includes ID theft crimes.
• Based on previous data and rising trends, it's possible that 1 out of every 200 people will be a victim of fraud or ID theft in the next year.
  
• Since it was first created in 1997, the FTC's database has collected more than 7.2 million complaints of fraud and identity theft.
• The states with the highest per-capita rate of identity theft are Arizona (#1), California and Florida.
  

Sources: These statistics came from the annual reports and data summaries provided on the FTC's website. Complaints are sent into the Consumer Sentinel Network database from a wide variety of law enforcement and consumer agencies. These include the Better Business Bureau, National Fraud Information Center, U.S. Postal Inspection Center and more. In other words, these identity theft statistics come from the most reliable sources available.

I'm not trying to scare you into using an identity theft prevention service. That's not our style here at the Home Buying Institute. In fact, I'm going to give you plenty of tips for preventing ID theft on your own, without paying anyone else to do it. With that being said, I do feel there is a legitimate need for identity protection services. They're not for everyone, but they are certainly useful for some.