In 2003, 4.6 percent of the US population said they were a victim of ID theft.
In 2005, that number had dropped to 3.7 percent of the population.[37][38] The Commission's 2003 estimate was that annual credit report free credit report Eureka identity theft accounted for some $52.6 billion of losses in the preceding year alone and affected annual credit report free credit report Eureka more than 9.91 million Americans;[39] the figure comprises $47.6 billion lost by businesses and $5 billion lost by consumers. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a report released in 2007 revealed that 8.3 million American adults, or 3.7 percent of all American adults, were victims of identity theft in 2005.[40] The latest report from the FTC showed that ID theft increased by 21% in 2008. However, credit card fraud, that crime which is most closely associated with annual credit report free credit report Eureka the crime of ID theft, has been declining as a percentage of all ID theft.
In 2002, 41% of all ID theft complaints involved a credit card. That percentage has dropped to 21% in 2008.[41] Two states, California[42] and Wisconsin[43] have created an Office of Privacy Protection to assist their annual credit report free credit report Eureka citizens in avoiding and recovering from identity theft. get your free credit report In Massachusetts in 2009-2010, Governor Deval Patrick made a commitment to balance consumer protection with the needs of small business annual credit report free credit report Eureka owners. His Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation announced certain adjustments to Massachusetts' identity theft regulations that maintain protections and also allows flexibility in compliance.
These updated regulations went into effect on March 1, 2010. The regulations are clear that their approach to data security is a risk-based approach important to small businesses and might not handle a lot of personal annual credit report free credit report Eureka information about customers.[44][45] Most states followed California's lead and annual credit report free credit report Eureka enacted mandatory data breach notification laws. online free credit check
As a result, companies that report a data breach typically report it to all their customers.[46] Surveys in the USA from 2003 to 2006 showed a decrease in the total number of victims and a decrease in the total value of identity fraud from US$47.6 billion in 2003 to $15.6 billion in 2006. The average fraud per person decreased from $4,789 in 2003 annual credit report free credit report Eureka to $1,882 in 2006.
The 2003 survey from the Identity Theft Resource Center[47] found that: In a widely publicized account,[48] Michelle Brown, a victim of identity fraud, testified before a U.S. Brown testified that: "over a year and a half from January 1998 through July 1999, one individual impersonated me to procure over $50,000 in goods and services. Not only did she damage my credit, but she escalated her crimes to a level that I never truly expected: she engaged in drug trafficking. The crime resulted in my erroneous arrest record, a warrant out for my arrest, and eventually, a prison record when she was booked under my name as an inmate in the Chicago Federal Prison." In Australia, identity theft was estimated to be worth between AUS$1billion and AUS$4 billion per annum in 2001.[49] In the United Kingdom the Home Office reported that identity fraud costs the UK economy £1.2 billion annually[50] (experts believe that the real figure could be much higher)[51] although privacy groups object to the validity of these numbers, arguing that they are being used by the government to push for introduction of national ID cards. free credit history report
