How likely is it for your identity to be stolen? If you think that your odds of becoming an identity theft victim are rare, you will be surprised. According to the identity theft statistics below, the chances of becoming a victim are higher than you might think. Check out the statistics below to see what I mean:
Alarming Facts About Identity Theft – 2024
- According to the identity theft percentage for 2017, 6.64 % of consumers were affected by it in the same year.
- Identity theft statistics show that 33 % of the adults in the US have been a victim of identity theft.
- 14.4 million people became victims of identity theft in 2018.
- A new case of identity theft takes place every 2 seconds.
- 30 % of military personnel are victims of identity theft.
- According to fraud statistics, medical identity theft is growing fast and is here to stay.
- Over 1 million children in the country were victims of child identity theft.
- 978 million individuals across twenty countries reported experiencing identity theft in 2017.
- Data breaches were at the forefront in 2019.
Identity Theft Statistics 2024
Today identity theft poses significant risks and challenges for consumers. Cybercrime stats for 2020 show that cybercrime is growing fast. Criminals are developing new ways and mechanisms for committing fraud and stealing the identity of innocent people. This is evident from the statistics listed below:
1. According to the data for 2017, 6.64 % of consumers were affected by identity fraud in the same year
Identity Force
Do you know what this means? 6.64 % is about 1 in 15 people. This increases your chances of becoming a victim quite significantly.
2. Statistics show that 33 % of the adults in the US have been a victim of identity theft
So, how common is identity theft? Let’s take a closer look at the numbers involved when it comes to identity theft:
3. 14.4 million people became victims of identity theft in 2018
iii.org
When it comes to determining how many people are victims of identity theft yearly, the figure recorded for 2018 was less than the 16.7 million recorded in 2017. However, what’s interesting here is that the victims in 2018 bore a heavier financial burden.
4. A new case of identity theft takes place every 2 seconds
Clark.com
This indicates a high identity theft frequency. Identity theft is hard to predict, since it doesn’t only happen at certain time periods, e.g. the holidays. This makes the odds of ID theft high on any given day.
Identity Theft Victims Demographics
I was really surprised when I came across the demographics of identity theft victims. Wait till you read the following demographic ID fraud stats to get a better picture. So, who are the most common victims of ID theft?
5. Consumers between the ages of 40 and 49 accounted for 15 % of identity theft complaints and the age group between 50 and 59 reported 24 % complaints
Fami
It’s interesting that the older age groups get targeted more often. Common scams include medical identity theft, tax ID theft, and fraud committed by nursing homes and long-term care providers.
6. 30 % of military personnel are victims of identity theft
Fami
Military personnel experience familiar fraud and more new-account fraud as compared to others. This is perhaps because the military has used PII (personally identifying information) as general identifiers for personnel, thereby increasing the risk of theft. Often the stolen identities are then used in imposter scams.
Types of Identity Theft
Here are a few different types of identity theft common in the US:
7. Tax fraud is the most common of them all
Life Lock
About 34 % of the tax ID theft-related cases were reported in 2018. In this kind of theft, the criminal uses the victim’s social security number to gain employment or for income tax return filing.
8. 33 % of the cases reported involved credit card fraud
Life Lock
The rise of credit and debit card fraud means that today criminals often use the victim’s credit card number or credit card itself to make purchases.
9. Medical identity theft is growing fast and is here to stay
Liberty ID
Among other medical identity theft stats, this one is worth knowing. With 2.3 million cases reported, up almost by 22 % from the year prior, it shows that this type of identity theft is growing fast.
10. Over 1 million children in the country were victims of child identity theft
NBC News
The child identity theft statistics show that children are not safe from this type of crime. And that no one is too young or small to be targeted. 2/3 of the victims were under 8 years of age while 20% were between 8 and 12.
11. 8 % of consumers reported being a victim of holiday shopping fraud in 2018
Experian
Not only that, but 43 % of them also had their identity stolen while they were shopping online during the holiday season.
12. Bank fraud statistics show that 12 % of all the cases related to identity thefts in 2018 were related to bank frauds
Life Lock
In such a fraud, the fraudster misuses the victim’s personal information to take over the existing financial account or to open a new account in the victim’s name.
The Cost of Identity Theft
Here’s a quick overview of how much money is lost in ID theft every year:
13. The average cost of identity theft per victim was $1038
CNBC
This reveals a rather dismal scenario. Did you know that besides the loss of money, identity theft can also negatively impact your credit score?
14. Identity theft insurance is now offered by major insurers
Credit Karma
Major insurers like Liberty Mutual, Allstate or State Farm now offer coverage against identity theft. This is offered as an add-on to your property policy. Typically, this insurance covers the loss of wages, public record searches, notary fees and more.
15. The ID theft recovery rates are somewhere between 7 hours over the course of a day and month
Life Lock
Recovering your identity once it gets stolen is not as easy as it seems. In extreme cases, people can spend nearly 1,200 hours over a year or more resolving their identity theft cases. In the case of synthetic identity theft, when the thief combines real and fake information to create a new identity, it becomes even harder to trace this kind of fraud and secure your accounts and information. This type of fraud is growing mostly because of the huge increase in personal information exposed in data breaches.
Countries with the Highest Rate of Identity Theft
Now let me tell you which countries worldwide and which states in the US are most affected by identity theft:
16. 978 million individuals across twenty countries reported experiencing identity theft in 2017
Norton
The countries with the highest rate of identity theft included China and India, followed by the US. The top identity theft victim states in the USA are the District of Columbia, California, and Nevada.
Identity Theft Trends 2024
17. Data breaches were at the forefront in 2019
Identity Theft Center
This shows that the number of data breaches in 2020 is expected to be high if people don’t start taking identity theft statistics more seriously. With the numbers of identity theft cases rising, adequate safety measures to protect your data from being stolen and misused are becoming even more necessary.
Wrap Up …
Now that you know about the identity theft statistics and the identity theft trends in 2020, it’s extremely important that you take effective measures to protect yourself and your business from becoming one of the victims. Identity theft can be a very real threat, so stay safe!
