Alarming identity theft statistics of 2012 (Infographic)

To show you exactly how devastating identity theft is, identity theft statistics would paint a clearer picture:

• Around 30 million consumers have already become victims of ID theft within the last five years.

• There has been an increase of 13% in identity theft cases between 2010 and 2011.

• Social media has played a crucial role in worsening the ID theft cases. This is tied to the fact that social media users tend to be lax with their data, such as birthdates.

• In the US, an annual collective loss of $15 Billion is attributed to identity theft.

• The average monetary loss of an individual victim is pegged at $500.

  Identity theft not only affects adults, but children and college level students are also at a risk of becoming victims of ID theft. The reason is that babies, children, and college students have spotless credit histories, making ID theft more lucrative for the ID thieves: spotless credit means that they will be able to open new lines of credit more easily. Spotless credit means that when the ID thieves apply for new lines of credit, approval will be a sure thing.

  In terms of statistics for college students, here are the numbers we were able to dig up:

• 48% of college students polled in a survey conducted by the United States Department of Education said that they actually left their personal information out in the open in their dorm rooms. Some of this "personal information" were financial in nature.

• 31% percent of the students surveyed admitted that they had been burglarized. Part of this 31% admitted that they knew someone else from their dorm building who had been burglarized.

  Through the survey, the college-age students' risk for being victims of stolen identity had been established clearly. They are prime targets simply because they are less careful with their data, and worse, their financial accounts and information. One more reason why ID thieves prefer to target them is that their SSN's are used in registering for their classes. When it comes to ID theft, only two numbers are needed: a person's SSN and his birthdate. In fact, for identity fraud, only the SSN is needed. In ID fraud, the thief can then build another identity around the stolen SSN.

  When it comes to child ID theft, here are the identity theft statistics:

• 140,000 children fall victim to identity fraud every year.

• Around 6 million family members "improperly share ID information." This means that a parent or another relative is using a child's SSN or other identity information.

• Around 500,000 children under 18 have had their identities stolen by a parent.

  With these statistics, one can conclude that children are prime ID theft targets. What is more chilling is that those who steal children's ID details are their relatives. Even more shocking is the fact that parents guiltlessly steal their children's ID. If these facts leave you dumbfounded, here are some reasons why children are top targets for ID theft:

• Children have spotless credit histories. This means that it's easier to apply for new lines of credit and to build a good credit history with a child's SSN.

• Parents have easier access to their children's SSN. This ease of access can lead to being tempted to use the children's SSN in a desperate moment. There have been cases of parents rationalizing their acts of identity theft by convincing themselves that their acts "are for the children's future," or "for the family's welfare" anyway. Other cases have seen parents rationalizing that they can pay back their fraudulently-obtained loans by the time their children would need their SSN's. Most of the time, they couldn't, and the child ends up growing into bad credit.

  Learning about these chilling identity theft cases and identity theft statistics should alarm you. It should show you that it can, and may, happen to you.

  The first and only line of defense for ID theft so far is credit monitoring and vigilant monitoring of one's accounts. Thus, it is crucial that you know how to spot identity theft.

  You will be able to spot identity theft when:

• Your accounts show new lines of credit that were opened without your knowledge.

• Your accounts show transactions that are NOT yours.

• Creditors call you from out of state.

• Debt collectors start to call you for transactions that you have no way of creating.

• You get mail thanking you for purchases or transactions that you've NEVER done.

  The moment these red flags start happening, it's time to either:

• Put a credit freeze on your accounts.

• File for a fraud alert with the three credit bureaus.

• Track down each and every transaction and dispute all of them.
  

Amy Johnson is an active blogger who is fond of writing articles on identity theft and helping people to protect against identity theft. Follow her on Twitter to know more on identity theft statistics and their implications.

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