According to the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel Report published in 2023 and covering the full year of 2022, reported cases of identity theft have increased by over 584% in the last 20 years. Other interesting data that came from this report:
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Last year, 1,108,609 cases of identity theft were reported, and, perhaps surprisingly, people in their thirties were the highest percentage of victims (25.9%).
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The median loss to fraud victims is $500, with total reported losses of $10.2 billion, a significant increase from the previous year's total of $6.9 billion in reported losses.
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The most common type of identity theft was credit card fraud, which includes using stolen information to open a line of credit as well as using a legitimate card fraudulently.
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Experts estimate that there is a case of identity theft every 22 seconds and that 33% of Americans will face this issue in their lifetime.
Identity theft can happen to anyone, and its effects can range from a small annoyance to financial devastation. The best protection is prevention, but if your information is used without your knowledge, we are standing by to help. If you are an MSCU member and you think that you might be a victim of identity theft, contact us and we will put you in touch with a professional Identity Theft Recovery Advocate.
Its never too late to protect yourself!
