ID Theft is the Number 1 Consumer Complaint for the 14th consecutive Year

In February of each year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) releases an annual report on identity theft and fraud complaints called the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book.

The 2014 report, reflecting 2013 statistics, reported Identity Theft was the top consumer complaint for the 14th consecutive year.

Specifically, government documents / benefits fraud (34%) was the most common form of reported identity theft, followed by credit card fraud (17%), phone or utilities fraud (14%), and bank fraud

Other significant categories of identity theft reported by victims were employment-related fraud (6%) and loan fraud (4%).

One of the more interesting findings is that the mature market (50 years and older) now represents 37 percent of all ID Theft victims, thus making it the single largest demographic of victims.

The FTC report also included the following highlights:

• While 37 percent of individuals at 50 years of age and older are victims of ID Theft, 47 percent of individuals 50 years of age and older are victims of fraud
• 30 percent of the identity theft complaints are related to tax or wage-related fraud
• The top 5 states for ID theft in order were Florida, Georgia, California, Michigan, and Nevada
• Children 19 and younger represent 6 percent of all victims
• Victims spend numerous hours straightening out their lives following an incident of identity theft
• Online identity theft is popular, with a target demographic of individuals between 20-29 years of age, who are posting information online
• Data breaches at organizations are happening more frequently
• Phishing emails are at an all-time high
• For military consumers, Identity Theft was the number one complaint category

In addition, Javelin Strategy & Research released its 2014 Identity Fraud Report in February and reported that 13.1 million Americans were victims of ID theft in 2013.

While ID Theft has been in the news over the last decade, the total number of 13.1 million ID Theft victims last year was the second-highest total since the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began counting victims in 2003.

Finally, the FTC advises anyone who spots a scam, is the victim of identity theft or other fraud-related issues, to file a complaint online with the agency's Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357).

For more information about identity theft, you can go to the following links:

Identity Theft Resource Center
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/artman2/publish/c_guide/Solution_16.shtml

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
https://www.privacyrights.org/

FTC ID Theft Consumer Page
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft