Becoming An Identity Theft Victim In Your Life Span Is Highly Likely
April 13, 2007
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In a recent informal poll published at
www.CreditLock.com, more than 57% of respondents said they know at
least one victim of Identity Theft. That means about one in every two
individuals has either been a victim of Identity Theft, or knows
someone who has been a victim.
Initially, such result may seem surprising and
excessive. It is possible that the results are skewed by the fact that
visitors to www.creditlock.com are inclined to be those seeking
information on Identity Theft for the same fact that they are
themselves victims or know victims. However, even if such results may
be skewed, the following facts lead us to conclude that they are not
too far from the truth.
Identity Theft has become associated with
internet/web/email related fraud such as Phishing, Malware, etc...
However, the method of contact in about 40% of identity Theft cases is
not related to Emails and the Internet. Most people seem to forget that
a stolen wallet, containing credit cards, can be a case of Identity
Theft. How likely is it in a person's life that such person would not
know someone whose wallet was stolen? Almost unheard of....
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Several
reports published annually by the FTC, Better Business Bureau, Gartner,
etc... estimate the number of Identity Theft victims in a given year to
be at least about 9 Million victims ( Gartner estimates as many as 15
million Identity Theft victims in 2006). Assuming that the average
annual number of victims in a decade is about 9 million victims, that
would lead to 90 million victims in a 10 year span. In a 20 year span,
that would lead to 180 million victims. Hence, although in any given
year the likelihood is small that one would become a victim of Identity
theft (3% to 5% with US population of 300 Million), there is a very
high likelihood that one would become a victim of Identity Theft
sometime in his or her life span.
Well, what is the significance
of all that? Given the severe consequences of becoming an Identity
Theft victim, and the high likelihood of becoming such victim sometime
in one's lifespan, individuals cannot afford but to take all
precautions necessary to protect themselves against Identity Theft.
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