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- 23.9 million people over 16 years old — 9% of US residents — had their identities stolen, latest data show.
- Losses due to identity theft totaled $16.4 billion, averaging $1,160 per person.
- Protect your identity by regularly checking credit reports or buying identity theft protection.
New data from the Justice Department show identity theft affecting about 9% of the US population, with victims losing an average of $1,160 each.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics report found that 23.9 million people over the age of 16 had their identities stolen in 2021, the most current data available for the study. That's the same percentage of people in that age group who were victimized by identity thieves three years earlier. The report also shows that 22% of US residents over 16 — nearly 59 million people — have experienced identity theft at some point in their lives.
The report released Thursday provides further insight into the scale of identity theft in the US, a problem that by some measures appears to be worsening, despite growing awareness and increased efforts to combat it. Separate data compiled by the Federal Trade Commission show the number of identity theft reports it received during the pandemic doubled from just over 650,000 in 2019 to 1.39 million in 2020. Reports of identity theft to the FTC continued to rise in 2021, reaching 1.43 million.
ID thieves mainly target credit card and bank accounts
The most common identity theft type was fraudulent use of an existing account. Activity involving existing credit card and bank accounts comprised 54% of all identity theft cases. Incidents where identity thieves opened up new accounts using someone else's credit made up 3.2% of cases.
About 59% of identity theft victims in 2021 suffered financial losses, totaling $16.4 billion, according to the Justice Department report. However, 86% of victims were able to recover their losses. The average time spent in resolving financial or credit issues for those who resolved identity theft was 3.9 hours.
How to protect against identity theft
Those most vulnerable to identity theft are often people who have already been victims. Once your identity has been compromised, it's important to take additional precautions so that it doesn't happen again. Of the victims of identity theft, 97.2% took action to reduce the risk of identity theft.
Regardless of whether you've been the target of identity thieves, it's important to stay vigilant and take precautions against it. A few simple steps that will go a long way in securing your identity.
The easiest thing to do is subscribe to an identity theft protection service that monitors your personal information and notifies you of any suspicious activity. Many will also provide cybersecurity measures, which may be useful as 37.5% of identity theft instances used cyber-enhanced means. The best identity theft protection services will provide recovery assistance and identity theft insurance.
If you do not want to pay for identity protection, there are still cost-free ways to protect your credit. You can obtain free credit reports and scan them for any unrecognized activity by requesting them through AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also sign up for credit monitoring services that will automatically notify you of any changes to your credit report. Some of the best credit monitoring services are free.
What to do if your identity is stolen
If your identity has been stolen, your best course of action will vary based on your situation.
Many credit cards and banks will flag suspicious activity automatically and send you an alert. 24.6% of victims discovered identity theft after being contacted by a financial institution about suspicious activity. Your bank will also provide resources to dispute anything you don't recognize, so you're not held responsible for any fraudulent activity.
For something more serious, like a new credit line taken out in your name, you should contact the credit bureaus to notify them about the fraudulent activity. You should also report the identity theft to the FTC through IdentityTheft.gov, which will give you an identity theft report. You can use this report to place an extended fraud alert on your credit report, which requires creditors to take extra steps to confirm your identity before extending a line of credit in your name.