The above number is from a Register article. The FTC contracted with Synovate, a VA survey company, to compile the latest ID Theft numbers. The actual report, which can be found at the FTC ID Theft site, says that 1.5% of respondents reported that their identity had been "misused to open new credit accounts, take out new loans, or engage in other types of fraud." Which suggests 3.25m Americans were affected by this type of fraud last year.
Interestingly, the methodology of the report says that information was gathered by a Telenation RDD (Random Digit Dialing) telephone survey. I wouldn't talk about ID Theft with a random caller. And I wonder about the validity of the numbers. There's a good chance that in reality the fraud numbers are higher. If you've been a recent victim of ID Theft, are you going to report that to a random caller?
Posted by Diana at September 8, 2003 08:27 AM