Fast Facts About ID Theft

* Victims who discovered identity theft in the early stages-within the first month - spent fewer than 10 hours resolving the related problems. (Source: U.S. Federal Trade Commission statistics, 2004.)

* Only one in 10 victims report they were aware that their personal information had been taken before discovering they were victims of identity theft. (Source: U.S. Federal Trade Commission statistics, 2004.)

* One in six identity theft victims has had their identity used by criminals when arrested and charged with a crime. (Source: U.S. Federal Trade Commission statistics, 2004.)

* Most victims do not learn about the theft of their identity until months after it has occurred.

* Victims of identity theft have reported that clearing their names and reclaiming their identities can take an average of 44 months according to the United States Postal Inspection Service.

* According to the ID Theft Resource Center, identity theft victims average 300 hours of activity in attempts to clear their names.

And More Facts

The FTC reports that among victims:

• 85% of identity theft victims had one or more of their accounts misused
• Only 25% of the victims reported the crime to criminal authorities
• Only 22% of the victims reported the crime to one or more credit bureaus
• 50% of the victims did not know how the criminals got their personal information
• 26% of the victims said they knew the person who misused their identity

The FTC is engaged in the battle against identity theft, they report:

• There were 9.9 million identity theft victims in 2003.
• The loss to businesses and the victims was $53 billion.
• On average, the thief misused the victim's personal information to obtain money or goods or services valued at $10,200.

The FTC further reports that a victim(s) reported that they experienced:

• 36% had credit card problems
• 35% were harassed by a collector
• 35% had loans rejected
• 23% had banking problems
• 16% had insurance rejection
• 14% had a criminal investigation