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Fast Facts On Identity Theft
The statistics on identity theft are alarming. The
Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, working with the
Federal Trade Commission, produced an identity theft
report in February of 2005 showing:
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Identity theft and fraud losses
totaled more than $547 million during 2004.
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Identity thieves can literally steal
thousands and thousands of dollars from an unsuspecting
consumer in very little time, often before they even are
aware of the ID theft.
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Internet complaints comprise more
than 50% of all reported complaints, totaling more than
$265 million dollars in personal identity theft losses.
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28% of all reported identity theft is
credit card fraud, followed by utilities, bank and
employment fraud.
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The number of victims of identity
theft who have their money stolen via electronic funds
transfer has more than doubled in the last two years. As
more people use the Internet as a means of commerce,
more opportunities arise for thieves to steal
confidential information.
What would you do if you found out
that as a result of a hacker attack during the Christmas
shopping season, your personal information had been
stolen and now some company you never heard of is
demanding immediate payment of an overdue $11,000 debt?
According to Chris Swecker, Assistant
Director of the Criminal Investigative Division of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, identity theft has
emerged as one of the dominant white collar crime
problems of the 21st century.
The victims of identity theft may
lose their ability to utilize their credit and their
financial identity, the impacts of which may last for
years after the initial crime is committed.
A survey issued in 2003 by the
Federal Trade Commission reported that the number of
consumers victimized by identity theft over 2002 year
comprised more than 9.91 million people, with losses
exceeding $52.6 billion.
Many experts think your chance of
being a victim are 1 in 8. Next time you eat out look at
your table of 4 and the group of 4 next to you one of
you is an identity theft victim.
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