From January 1, 2002 - December 31, 2002, the FTC identity theft hotline reported 161,000 cases. In 2002, experts estimate that there was between 1.2 million victims nationally.
Types of identity theft reported to the FTC in this time period:
| Credit Card Fraud | 50% of the identity theft victims reported that a credit card was opened in their name or that unauthorized charges were placed on their existing credit card. |
| Unauthorized Phone or Utility Services | 25% of victims reported that the identity thief had established a new telephone, cellular, or other utility service in their name or accessed their existing account. |
| Bank Fraud | 16% of identity theft victims reported that a new bank account had been opened in their name, fraudulent checks had been written, or unauthorized withdrawals had been made from their account. |
| Fraudulent Loans | 9% reported that the identity thief had obtained a loan (personal, business, auto, real estate, etc.) in their name. |
| Government Documents or Benefits | 8% reported that the identity thief had obtained or forged a government document such as a driver's license, filed a fraudulent document such as a tax return, or obtained government benefits in their name. |
| Other Identity Theft | Other types of identity theft reported included misuse of the victims’ personal information to gain employment, obtain medical services, evade legal sanctions and criminal records, obtain tax refunds, open or access Internet accounts, declare bankruptcy, lease residences, and purchase or trade in securities and investments. |
| Multiple Types | Approximately half of the victims that called our Hotline reported experiencing more than one of the above types of identity theft. |
Most of the victims did not know or did not identify their identity thieves. However, among those that did (given in percentages):
| Family Member | 9.6 |
| Roommate/Co-Habitant | 2.1 |
| Neighbor | 1.4 |
| Workplace Co-worker/Employer/Employee | 1.6 |
| Otherwise Known | 4.8 |
| TOTAL | 19.5 |
Over 35 percent of victims providing this information noticed the identity theft within one month of its occurrence. However, some victims were unaware of the theft for as long as five years. The average amount of time between the date the identity theft occurred and the date it was noticed by the victim was 14 months.
For information on statistics for Identity Theft from the year 2006, for comparison's sake,click here.
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