Even i don’t have a long time experience working as a Risk management consultant, but it was very surprising for me that most people i have met, have faced an Identity Theft cases, or at least know someone that happened to him. Cases i faced till now were about credit cards cards and driving licenses. !!!
The most surprising thing to me is that people tends not to go for protection programs unless they suffered from it by themselves. Everyone thinks he is far away from having his identity theft. !!!
Reviewing recent statistics published on the National Criminal Justice Reference service, we find that:
In 2013, of all complaints received by the Federal trade commission (FTC), 14% of them was Identity theft!. And this is a big percentage, Actually it is No#1 crime in America. It is the fast growing crime all over US. FTC reported recently that Identity Theft is number one consumer complaint in 2013 and has been for 14 consecutive years.! You are most likely to have your identity theft than to have your car stolen or house broken.
Whereas FBI reported that Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the US and is a legitimate threat to every citizen, No one is Immune from this terrible crime.
- FTC reported there were nearly 14.9 million victims reported in 2013, which means nearly 40,000+ victims every day or almost a victim every 2 seconds.
- 1 out of 10 children is a victim of identity theft.
Most of us, think of credit cards, bank accounts and financial data, when we first hear about Identity Theft. but the following chart shows something different.
Credit card fraud represents only 17% of all identity theft cases, while government documents and benefits such as social security number, driving license, medical care,..etc represent 34% !.
here are some scenarios that could happen:
- someone can commit a crime with you identity, and the police goes after you not him.
- someone may get access to your medical insurance policy, and get the healthcare they need, and the bill is not going to them, but you.! and if you don’t pay that bill, your credit will be destroyed.
- someone could take your social security and file for a government benefit, a retirement plan, disability, even file a false tax return in your name
below are some other averages over united states:
| Average number of U.S. identity fraud victims annually |
11,571,900 |
| Percent of U.S. households that reported some type of identity fraud |
7 % |
| Average financial loss per identity theft incident |
$4,930 |
| Total financial loss attributed to identity theft in 2013 |
$24,700,000,000 |
| Total financial loss attributed to identity theft in 2012 |
$21,000,000,000 |
| Total financial loss attributed to identity theft in 2010 | $13,200,000,000 |
These Averages say a lot, but the most important thing they says is “It is increasing every year“.
I can confirm that we all need a kind of Identity protection program, no matter the provider, but you must have it.
As i represent LegalShield, and have a protection plan with them, i would highly recommend you to take its Identity Theft program. we are solely representing KROLL, the worldwide leading provider of identity protection programs.
In this program we keep an eye on all of your data and your family too, once your credit cards have been used anywhere, you social security has been used or searched anywhere, we will let you know. We simply monitor your data and alerting you (prevention). And in case you faced a situation where your identity has been stolen, we work on behalf of you on the recovery process, and clean-up the mess. For less than 50 cent per day, get your identity and your family too protected. Do not wait till it happens to you. Be proactive.
Hesham Eladawy Blog and personal website 