From January 1, 2006 - December 31, 2006, the FTC identity theft hotline reported 246,035 cases.
Types of identity theft reported to the FTC in this time period:
| Credit Card Fraud | 25% 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 | 16% 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. |
| Employment Related Fraud | 14% of identity theft victims reported misuse of the victims’ personal information to gain employment. |
| Government Documents or Benefits | 10% 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. |
| Fraudulent Loans | 5% reported that the identity thief had obtained a loan (personal, business, auto, real estate, etc.) in their name. |
| Other Identity Theft | Other types of identity theft reported included using a victims personal information to 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. 24% of the total reported cases fell into these categories. |
| Multiple Types | Approximately half of the victims that called our Hotline reported experiencing more than one of the above types of identity theft. |
The average age in years of the victims of identity theft (given in percentages) are as follows:
| Under 18: | 5 |
| 18 to 29: | 29 |
| 30 to 39 | 23 |
| 40 to 49 | 20 |
| 50 to 59 | 13 |
| Over 60 | 10 |
The top ten States for identity theft (given in victims per 100,000 population) are as follows:
| Arizona | 147.8 |
| Nevada | 120 |
| California | 113.5 |
| Texas | 110.6 |
| Florida | 98.3 |
| Colorado | 92.5 |
| Georgia | 86.3 |
| New York | 85.2 |
| Washington | 83.4 |
| New Mexico | 82.9 |
| Maryland | 82.9 |
Most of the victims, 84%, did not personally know or did not identify their identity thieves. However, among those that did (given in percentages):
| Family Member or Relative | 6 |
| Friend/Neighbor/In-house Employee | 2 |
| Workplace Co-worker | 8 |
| TOTAL | 16 |
Over 45 percent of victims providing this information noticed the identity theft within one month of its occurrence. However, 9% of victims were unaware of the theft for as long as five years.
For information on statistics for Identity Theft from the year 2000, for comparison's sake,click here.
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