Nearly 12 million people, about 5 percent of the U.S. population ages 16 and older, were victims of identity theft in the past two years, according to a Department of Justice report released recently.
The report found that the most common type of theft was unauthorized use of an existing credit card, followed at second by stolen identity used to illegally access bank accounts or open new credit card accounts.
Based on the survey, the Bureau estimates the crimes caused $17.3 billion in damages. Three-quarters of the victims surveyed said they had suffered no out of pocket financial loss because their banks covered the losses.
About 17 percent of victims said they reported the thefts to police. Those who didn’t said they chose not to report the crime because they suffered no monetary loss or because they didn’t think police could help them.
It is important to file a police report if you are a victim of identity theft. You may need a copy of this report later on when proving your case or that charges on a credit card aren’t yours. If the police are reluctant to file a report for identity theft, ask them to file a miscellaneous incident report.
You should also ask your local police department to check with the Federal Trade Commission’s Computer Sentinel Database for other identity theft victims in the area. If they are able to detect patterns, they are more likely to take your report seriously. This is why it’s also important to file a report with the FTC as well.
Remember, the more authority figures you are able to involve in the situation, the faster you will be able to restore your identity and catch the individual who committed the crime.
