Identity Theft

Patterns of Identity Theft

Identity theft is thought to be one of the fastest growing crimes in America. In 2005, 8 million people were identity theft victims and total losses approached $16 billion. More recent findings from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) suggest that identity theft increased since the first survey in 2005 from 5.5% of households to 7% of households in 2010. Much of this increase is attributed to rises in the misuse or attempted misuse of existing credit card accounts.

Even though official data sources vary in the crimes they categorize as identity theft, most agree that it is an extremely costly crime. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), offenders made on average $1,882 per theft and victims suffered an average out-of-pocket loss of $371. According to data from the NCVS, the estimated loss for all types of identity theft reported by victims who had lost at least $1 averaged $2,400 with a median loss of $430. The financial costs to victims vary depending on the type of identity theft. Victims who had their personal information misused lost an average of $2,829, while victims who had their existing credit cards stolen lost about $1,105. Victims of new account fraud suffered the greatest financial loss with an average direct financial loss of $8,110.

Men and women are equally likely to be victimized each year. The lowest rate of identity theft victimization is among persons of age 65 or older, while the majority of victims are in their mid-20s to mid-50s. Recent victimization surveys show a slightly younger demographic with the greatest risk being to households headed by persons between the ages of 16 and 24, although the difference between them and those in the age-group of 25 to 34 was minimal. In addition, most data suggest that households with incomes greater than $75,000 are at higher risk than households with lower incomes. Data from the NCVS on race/ethnicity and identity theft victimization show that households headed by whites, Asians, and those reporting “two or more races” had the highest rates of victimization.

[Page 357]It is difficult to paint a portrait of the “typical” identity thief due to the lack of reliable data. What little is known about offenders comes from police reports and closed case files of various law enforcement agencies. It appears that nearly half of the offenders are between the ages of 25 and 34 and another one third fall within the 35 to 49 age-group. The majority of offenders are black (54%), with whites and Hispanics accounting for 38% and 5% of offenders, respectively. It appears that most offenders have been employed at some point during their lifetimes and about one third use their employment to facilitate their thefts.

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