Identity Crimes

 

Contact Information

Center for Identity Management
and Information Protection
Dr. Donald Rebovich,
Executive Director
315.792.3231
drebovich@utica.edu
Utica University
1600 Burrstone Road
Utica, NY 13502

Identity Crimes


Statistics



How does identity theft and identity fraud affect us nationally?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Sentinel Network (CSN) annually publishes a report based on the number of consumer complaints received regarding fraud and identity theft. In addition to complaints received by the FTC, CSN reports include complaints filed by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), Better Business Bureaus, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Identity Theft Assistance Center, the National Fraud Information Center, and other sources.

The result is an annual national report that aggregates consumer complaints related to fraud that include debt collection; Internet services; prices, sweepstakes, and lotteries; credit cards; telephone and mobile services; and others.

Over the years, the number one complaint received has consistently been identity theft.  The following is the number of identity theft complaints reported by the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network for the past five years:

Information reported by the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book Report for calendar years 2007 to 2010.  Column chart created by Ingrid Norris, CIMIP’s Research Analyst.

The number of consumer complaints filed by the FTC’s CSN for the past five years are: 


Federal Trade Commission

Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book Report

Year

Fraud and Identity theft Complaints

Identity Theft Complaints

2006

670,000

241,200

2007

800,000

256,000

2008

1,200,000

312,000

2009

1,300,000

273,000

2010

1,300,000

247,000

Information obtained from the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book Report for calendar years 2007 to 2010.  Data aggregated by Ingrid Norris, CIMIP’s Research Analyst.

The most common forms of identity theft reported by the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network for the past five years were:


Information obtained from the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book calendar year2010. Bar graph created by Ingrid Norris, Research Analyst at CIMIP.


Information obtained from the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book calendar year2009. Bar graph created by Ingrid Norris, Research Analyst at CIMIP.


Information obtained from the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data calendar year2008. Bar graph created by Ingrid Norris, Research Analyst at CIMIP.


Information obtained from the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data calendar year 2007. Bar graph created by Ingrid Norris, Research Analyst at CIMIP.


Information obtained from the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data for calendar year 2006. The bar graph created by Ingrid Norris, Research Analyst at CIMIP.


Although the FTC has seen a decrease in the number of identity theft complaints, it is important to follow preventative methods to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft.

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