3.6 Million U.S. Households Learned They Were Identity Theft Victims
During A Six-Month Period in 2004
Reprinted with the permission of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– An estimated 3.6 million households, or about 3 percent of all households in the nation, learned that they had been the victim of at least one type of identity theft during a six-month period in 204, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. Forty-eight percent had experienced an unauthorized use of credit cards; 25 percent had other accounts, such as banking accounts, used without permission; 15 percent experienced the misuse of personal information and 12 percent experienced multiple types of theft at the same time. These finding represent six-month estimates based on interview conducted from July through December 2004 for the BJS National Crime Victimization Survey.
Households headed by young people (18-24 years old), those in urban or suburban areas and those with incomes of $75,000 or more where the most likely to experience identity theft. Victimization did not differ by race or ethnicity.
About one-third of households that were identity theft victims discovered the loss by noticing missing money or unfamiliar charges on an account, and about one-quarter were contacted by a credit bureau. The estimated loss during the 6-month period was about $3.2 billion. This included losses that may have been reimbursed by credit card companies, insurance companies or other financial institutions.
About two-thirds of the households said they lost money. The average loss was $1,290. Some households for which misuse was still ongoing at the time of the interview may have continued to suffer losses.
About one-quarter of all victimized households said the misuse had not stopped. The misuse was more likely to have stopped for households experience credit card theft (78 percent) than those experiencing theft of other existing accounts (65 percent) or the misuse of personal information (54 percent).
One-third of the victimized households experienced on or more problems caused by identity theft. The most common problem was being contacted by a debt collector (34 percent), followed by problems with bank accounts (31 percent) and credit cards (26 percent).
About one in five households spent at least one month resolving their problems. One-third said the problems were resolve din one day. At the time of the interview about one-sixth said the misuse was still causing problems.
The survey questions were asked of one household member, who provided information about other property crimes the entire household may have suffered. The survey did not obtain information on which household members were victims.
Identity theft questions were added to the BJS crime survey in July 2004. Only 6 months of data were available for analysis. Annual prevalence estimates will be published when data are available for 2005.
The report, “Identity Theft, 2004” (NCJ 212213), was written by BJS statistician Katrina Baum. Following publication on this document can be accessed at: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/it04.htm.
For additional information about the Bureau of Justice Statistics statistical reports programs, please visit the BJS website at: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs.
The office of Justice Programs (OJP) provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP is headed by an Assistant Attorney General and comprises five component bureaus and an office: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime, as well as the Community Capacity Development Office, which incorporated the Weed and Seed strategy and OJP’s American Indian and Alaska Native Affairs Desk. More information can be found at www.ojp.usdoj.gov.
Read on for important information to protect you and your family from becoming victims of identity theft.
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| Identity Theft Phone Scam Identity theft scammers, pretending to work for local courts are calling potential victims with the news that they have failed to report for jury duty and that a warrant has been issued for their arrest. They then ask victims for personal confidential information, including Social Security numbers, birth dates, and credit card numbers for verification purposes. This is exactly the information that they need to commit identity theft. The jury duty scam has been reported in nine states: Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. In reality, court workers do not call potential jurors and ask for their Social Security numbers, credit card numbers or other personal information. Most courts use snail mail exclusively for jury matters. |
| Phishing Phishing is a high-tech scam that uses e-mail or pop-up messages to deceive you into disclosing your credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security numbers, passwords, or other sensitive information. The e-mail claims to be from a business or organization that you deal with – for example, your Internet Service Provider (ISP), bank, online payment service, or even a government agency. The message usually says that you need to ‘update’ or ‘validate’ your account information. It might threaten some dire consequence if you don’t respond. The purposed of the bogus site is to trick you into divulging your personal information so the operators can steal your identity and run up bills or commit crimes in your name. If you receive one of these e-mails, do not click on links associated with these phishing attempts as they can download malicious software. |
| Nigerian Scam Lately there have been many letters, e-mails, and faxes from Nigerians stating that they need assistance getting money out of Africa and are looking for people in the United States to help them. They say that a US bank account is needed to deposit funds that they are trying to get out of the country. These letters range in topic but always ask for account information. The account could be debited by way of an electronic debit transfer. Sometimes an amount of money is sent via a check or cashier’s check to the party in the United States. Then an amount is asked to be returned to Nigeria. After the funds are sent to Nigeria, the original deposited check comes back fraudulent, and the victim has lost whatever funds they transferred to Nigeria. These counterfeit checks are often undetectable until the originating bank rejects them. |
| Lottery Scam A similar scam to the Nigerian scam is called the “Lottery Scam” in which the victim is told that they have won some sort of Lottery. They may receive an e-mail, fax, or phone call to notify them that they have won. They are then sent a fraudulent cashier’s check and are asked tow ire taxes to the Canadian government. The customer deposits the cashier’s check, wires a percentage of the money to an account in Canada to pay the fake taxes, then the original check is returned as fraudulent. The victim has then lost whatever money they had wired back to Canada. |
| Home Improvement Scam A scam has resurfaces victimizing the elderly in our area. With this scam, an individual or group of people approach an elderly person’s home and convince them that they done work for them in the past or that they need a new roof and that they will do the job for a fraction of what someone else would charge them. Once they gain the person’s trust they may rob their homes or do an unacceptable job for an exorbitant fee. |
| Counterfeit US Postal Money Orders Counterfeit US Postal Money Orders are being received by residents in our communities. Sometimes it is for an Internet purchase and the purchaser is sending a worthless money order. They are sometimes told that they have won a lottery of their assistance is needed in exchanging several $1,000 money orders into a cashiers check. In this scam, the sender will give the recipient a fee for combining small money orders into a bigger check. For instance, if the recipient will exchange ten $1,000 US Postal Money Orders into a cashier’s check of $10,000, the sender will give the recipient $1,000. |
| Counterfeit Payroll Checks Lately, many counterfeit payroll checks have shown up in our area causing many local businesses to lost money. These checks appear to have been written by legitimate local businesses. These con-artists will approach a cashier at a store that they know cashes payroll checks, product an authentic looking driver’s license matching the name on the check, and leave with the money. Once a business cashes a counterfeit check there is usually no way to recover the money. |
| Quick Change Artists People have visited many community banks asking for a teller to change large bills into several smaller bills then change their minds as to which denomination they wanted. When the teller places the smaller bills on the counter, the quick change artists will touch the money and take it without the teller noticing. When the teller recounts the money that was changed, their drawer is short – usually by a few hundred dollars. Since no ID is required for a cash-for-cash transaction, finding these individuals is often impossible. This crime ring targets banks more than retail stores and usually attempt to pick out the newest teller that is working the teller line. |
| Public Computer System Scam Recently our customers have notified us that they have received calls from the Public Computer System saying that their information has been posted on the internet. These individuals have a name, address, and phone number and ask that the person they are contacting to verify their information in order to clear it off the internet. |
Ten Ways Thieves Steal Your Information:
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Four Warning Signs That Your Identity Has Been Stolen
If you experience one of the above indicators, you should not assume that it is simply a clerical error. You should immediately notify the company or institution’s fraud prevention department to initiate a detailed account investigation. |
Consumer Resources: Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Identity Theft Hotline Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) First Gov (Your First Click to the U.S. Government) Social Security Administration Identity Theft Resource Center U.S. Postal Inspectors Victims Assistance of American INC |
| Credit Agencies Equifax Report Fraud: 800-525-6285 Order a Credit Report: 800-685-1111 Experian Report Fraud: 888-397-3742 Order a Credit Report: 888-397-3742 TransUnion Report Fraud: 800-680-7289 Order a Credit Report: 800-916-8800 |
| What to do if you encounter one of these scams The FBI advises the following actions, depending on how the scam information was received:
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If a customer did respond, and if there was a loss involved, the person should contact the United States Secret Service at 570-346-5781, PO Box 247, Scranton, PA 18501. Remember… if it sounds too good to be true…it probably is! |