A survey by the Better Business Bureau showed that online identity fraud is contained. Identity fraud victims in the US have declined from 4.7% in 2003 to 4% in 2006.


A survey by the Better Business Bureau showed that online identity fraud is contained. Identity fraud victims in the US have declined from 4.7% in 2003 to 4% in 2006.

James Van Dyke, Javelin’s founder and principal analyst, said: “Our numbers clarify four key misperceptions about identity fraud. Most importantly, people are not helpless in protecting themselves from identity theft.

Contrary to popular belief, consumers do not bear the brunt of financial losses from identity fraud, Internet use does not increase the risk of identity fraud; and that seniors are not the most frequent targets of fraud operators. Our findings will help people learn about specific important steps they can take to better protect themselves.” [Source]

Key data points of the 2006 Identity Fraud Report were:

1) The number of adult victims of identity fraud, in the US, has declined from 10.1 million in 2003 to 8.9 million in 2006.
2) The average fraud amount per case has increased from $5,249 to $6,383, over 2 years. As a result, the total one year cost of identity fraud in the US has increased from $53.2 billion in 2003 to $56.6 billion in 2006.
3) 68% of identity fraud victims do not incur out-of-pocket expenses.
4) The time spent by victims to resolve identity fraud cases has increased from 33 hours in 2003 to 40 hours in 2006.
5) 90% of the data compromise takes place through traditional offline channels, not via Internet.

For more information on the 2006 Identity Fraud Report, click here.

 

 

 

 

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