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U.S. Federal Trade Commission Reports on Identity Theft
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has released a report about identity theft statistics in the United States. According to the FTC, about 4 per cent of American adults (about 8.3 million people) were victims of identity theft in 2005. About half of those individuals did not incur out-of-pocket losses or expenses due to the identity theft. On the other hand, about 10 per cent reported losses of more than $1,200. Other difficulties arising from identity theft included unwanted attention from debt collectors, being denied new credit or loans, difficulties using credit cards or bank accounts, and having utilities cut off (about 37 per cent of identity theft victims reported these types of problems).
The report highlights the fact that identity theft is indeed a small but significant problem, and that being a victim of identity theft can create more than just monetary loss. For these reasons, individuals should continue to be concerned about protecting their personal information and should pay attention to information security breaches (such as the one which recently occurred on the Passport Canada website) which might affect them.
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