How Many Americans Are Victims Of Identity Theft Each Year? Plus Over 50 Identity Theft Statistics For Apr 2024!

How Many Americans Are Victims Of Identity Theft Each Year?

Every year, some 9 million Americans become victims of identity theft or fraud, despite the fact that only an average of 1.8 million incidents of fraud and id theft were reported each year during the years 2000 to 2020. That implies that millions of instances of id theft and fraud go undetected every year.

How Many Americans Had Their Identities Stolen In 2020

In 2020, there were 4.7 million identity theft and credit card incidents in the United States, resulting in a $4.5 billion total loss. The numbers breakdown to Americans reporting about 1.4 million identity theft reports, 2.2 million fraud reports, and 1.2 million other reports.

Key Statistics:

Fraud And Identity Theft Reports By Year:

What Is The Most Prevalent Form Of Identity Theft Today?

Account takeovers are one of the most prevalent forms of identity theft, with 1.4 million occurrences each year. An account takeover is when Identity thieves seize control of a person's identity and assume the persona of the individual without their permission. This is frequently linked to internet crimes, hacking, email spoofing, and mobile phone porting.

The most common complaints are organized by type below:

Identity theft-based tax fraud and employment

Employment Fraud - This is the most frequent ID fraud complaint in this category. This technique is used by criminals to gain unauthorized access to your Social Security number and other forms of data in order to work for a specific company. Because its major goal is employment rather than money theft, it's considerably less dangerous than other forms of identity fraud.

Tax Fraud - According to the FTC, 36% of identity theft and fraud complaints are unique to the Tax fraud category and are also more dangerous since crooks may utilize other people's personal information to submit tax forms in order to gain an advantage.

Credit Card Fraud - Credit card fraud is the second most frequent type of identity theft and fraud in the United States, with roughly 33% of all such complaints. In the instance of credit card fraud, criminals may use other people's personal information to get a card that doesn't belong to them or establish a new one entirely.

Utilities And Phone Line Fraud - Another frequently mentioned ID theft problem is utilizing someone else's personal information to open utility and telecom accounts. Up to 13% of ID fraud incidents are related to this kind of complaint. By doing so, the scammer obtains free public utilities and memberships since the fraudulent invoices will be sent to the owner of the personal data used illegally.

Bank Fraud - Some 12% of identity theft complaints involve bank fraud. Bank fraud is also a widespread problem. In this case, the offender uses another person's personal information to create new bank accounts and credit lines, as well as to take control of a person's account entirely.

Leasing And Lending Frauds - Leasing and lending fraud is another fairly common identity theft-related complaint with 7% of ID theft complaints being linked to this category. The criminal benefit is that they won't have to repay the debt or interest on it. Instead, the victim will be contacted for debt repayment.

Obtaining Government Benefits Through Identity Theft - Many criminals employ identity theft to obtain a variety of government benefits. The content of these perks is determined by what the criminal is searching for. Roughly 7% of complaints are about this method, which is considerably less frequent than employment and tax fraud.

How Much Money Do American Consumers Lose To Identity Theft & Fraud?

In 2021, Americans lost more than $56 billion to identity theft and fraud.

What Is The Worldwide Total Loss For Identity Theft?

Identity theft has resulted in a worldwide loss of approximately $721.3 billion in 2021.

What Is The Global Cost To Repair Identity Theft And Fraud?

The worldwide cost of dealing with identity theft and fraud is $1.7 billion.

Which Age Group Is Responsible For The Most Identity-Related Fraud Reports?

Millennials are responsible for 44% of all identity-related fraud reports in the United States.

How Many Children Had Their Identities Stolen From Fraudsters?

Around 1.3 million children have their identities stolen from fraudsters.

Identity Theft Reports By Age:

Types Of Identity Theft By Age:

Key Statistics:

Taking Action

Identity Theft and Fraud is a massive problem in the United States, and it’s only getting worse.

Make sure you have some form of identity theft protection and be vigilant about protecting your personal information.

By taking these precautions, you can reduce your risk of becoming one of the millions of Americans who have their identities stolen each year.

Sources:

FTC | GIACT | Policy Advice |