Seven Percent of Households Victimized By Identity Theft

In 2010, 7.0% of U.S. households had at least one member (age 12 or older) who was victimized by identity theft. This is according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. The victimization rate was 7.3% in 2009, and 5.5% in 2005. According to the report, the increase from 2005 to 2010 was largely due to a rise in identity theft related to existing credit card accounts.
Among households that were victimized by identity theft, a lower percentage experienced a direct financial loss due to the event in 2010 compared to 2005. In 2010, among households with losses of $1 or more, the median loss was $300 and the mean loss was $2,190.

Among other findings in the report (which apply to both 2005 and 2010):

• households headed by someone age 65 or older had lower identity theft victimization rates than other households;
• victimization rates were higher in households with a married head of household compared to other households; and
• victimization rates were higher in households with $75,000 or more household income compared to households with lower or unknown income.