Identity Theft Statistics; Reaching New Heights

Identity theft is a rising crime in the United States and over the last few years the amount that have fell victim to identity theft has risen dramatically. Nearly ten million people have fell victim to id theft, and since 2007 the number of victims have risen every year since. A recent study concluded that even with the rise in identity theft crimes and the amount of danger it poses to everyday people like you and me, 76% of people have never looked into identity theft protection. Along with the 76% that "can’t be bothered,’’ 20% of them didn’t even know how severe a crime that identity theft is or the first thing to do to protect themselves. Education is power but information is knowledge, knowing how dangerous something is may not be enough to scare some people into buying identity theft protection but if they become aware of how dangerous it really is, then I would feel that I did a good job.

The Reality

In the past couple of years millions of individuals as well as businesses have fell victim to identity.

Over 10 million victims in the past year in the U.S which is an 11% increase from 2008 to 2009. This means one out every twenty Americans risk being a victim of identity theft at any given time. Young adults and children have a much higher risk than the national average because they are more likely to be influenced by certain websites and messages that offer incentives for personal information.

It costs Businesses 48 billion dollars each year because of identity theft. Small businesses are more likely to be a victim of id theft rather than large businesses (Not saying that large businesses are safer from id theft). For one, small business owners have the tendency to complete financial transactions over the internet or through mail, and small business owners usually use their personal information for expenses of the company. Sometimes small businesses owners have to do it especially when they’ve built that business from scratch but the problem with that is companies are public which puts a very wide target on that owner’s personal information.

The average loss to each victim of identity theft is $1,180. This number isn’t what identity thieves commonly take from each victim, it’s basically taking the billions of dollars that are stolen each year and spreading them across the millions of victims there are. Depending how long a thief can continue to use a victim’s identity without being detected determines how much damage they can do to your identity. If a thief knows for a fact that this person won’t detect them, they can take out multiple credit cards and make dozens of transactions that can far exceed thousands of dollars that that victim will eventually have to pay back.

40% of victims detect identity theft within first 4 months. Millions of Americans don’t have the time or the knowledge of how to constantly check their identity for anything out of the ordinary. This is why many victims don’t find out until months after that their identities have been tampered with, and usually by the time that it is noticed that victim may already owe hundreds or even thousands of dollars in money that they didn’t spend in the first place.

It takes 15% of victims 4 or more years to discover their identity has been stolen! It may not seem like a huge number compared to 40%, but out of 10 million victims that’s nearly 1.5 million people whose identity can be used to completely start another life, without the victim ever knowing. In 4 years that thief can change billing addresses so you never see what they might be doing with your identity, they can use your identity to buy houses, property, and assets in your name while incurring tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

The time and money involved in restoring your identity can be avoided by taking preventative measures while seeking protection that covers you financially in the case that you ever fall victim to this kind of dishonesty. Having to constantly worry about your identity and being forced to pay money that you don’t have is not a way to live.

Learn more about identity theft and seek protection and don’t become a part of these horrible statistics, visit my website to learn more at Platinum-Guard.com