IDENTITY THEFT FACTS

Identity theft continues to affect many people, especially high target identities who are even more exposed to the threats and consequences of identity theft which may include credit disruption, private information disclosure, identity fraud, criminal accusations, or negative media attention.

In fact, the affluent wealthy individuals who live in high scale populated neighborhoods, travel abroad, play tennis, go skiing, or have an interest in cultural arts are much more likely to be targets and victims of identity theft according to recent studies conducted by Experian. Consider these startling statistics:

1. About 12 million people are affected by identity theft each year and the trend appears to be growing.
2. The majority of victims don’t detect identity theft until three months after fraud occurs. It takes some people years to discover that something went wrong.
3. Stolen wallets and documents account for 43 percent of all identity theft cases, which shows that not only identity theft doesn’t always involve technology, but also consumers can reduce identity theft risks by at least 43 percent with proper education and training.
4. Total annual fraud loss is about $50 billion for businesses and $5 billion out of pocket expenses for identity theft victims.