[Dataloss] Identity-theft statistics look better, but you still don't want to be one

There's some good news and some bad news about identity theft.

Identity-theft statistics look better, but you still don't want to be one

The good news is that last year the number of people victimized
decreased 28 percent, to 8.1 million, according to a report by Javelin
Strategy & Research. Although that's still a huge number, it's 3
million fewer victims than in 2009. Overall losses from identity fraud
also fell last year, to $37 billion, from $56 billion in 2009.

Using stolen Social Security numbers or credit cards and other
financial information, identity thieves, among other crimes, buy cars,
get cellphones and open new credit card accounts.

For eight years, Javelin has been tracking trends in identity theft,
helping to keep a national focus on this category of crime. Last year,
the plummet in the crime was the largest annual decrease since Javelin
started tracking it in 2003.

So, what's different?

For one thing, there has been a significant drop in data breaches, or
situations in which batches of personal information have become
vulnerable to identity thieves. The number of breaches last year was
down by almost one-third, to 407 incidents, or 26 million records
exposed, according to the DataLossDB project. Again, still a huge
number, but at least it's down - from 604 breaches, or 221 million
records exposed, in 2009.

"We definitely see evidence that the banks and other institutions are
taking stronger precautions to prevent data breaches," said James Van
Dyke, president and founder of Javelin. "Data breaches are a big deal.
You are eight times more likely to be a victim of fraud if you get a
data-breach notice." Consumer-education efforts may be another factor,
Van Dyke said.

Shadowing the good news in the Javelin report were two not-so-good details.

The average out-of-pocket expense for victims increased 63 percent
from, $387 per incident in 2009 to $631 in 2010.

Generally, consumers are not held liable for fraudulent debt, but many
victims still end up having to shell out money to clear their names.
Van Dyke said some consumers, who get tired of the creditor calls,
just pay the bills. Others end up with legal fees. A victim of
identity theft may have to hire a lawyer if the criminal's actions
under the stolen name lead law enforcement officials to come after the
wrong person.

Javelin also found that "friendly fraud" grew 7 percent. That's the
term for identity theft committed by someone known to the victim.
People 25 to 34 years old are most likely to be victims of this type
of fraud.

If you want to decrease your chances of becoming a victim of identity
theft, follow these tips from Javelin:

l Protect your personal data. Shred documents that contain personal
and financial data. I know you've heard it before, but one slip and
your information is compromised. My husband and I nearly slipped
recently. I was going through the recycling bin to double-check that
we hadn't tossed any revealing paperwork. To my dismay, my husband had
accidentally dropped in several old checkbooks. It was the kind where
you have duplicate copies of your checks. For added security, the
duplicates don't reveal our name, address or bank account number, but
at the back of a couple of the books were a few unused deposit slips
that did contain our names, address and full account number.

l Don't share so much on social networks. People using social
networking for five or more years are twice as likely as those newer
to these sites to suffer identity fraud.

l Monitor your bank and credit card accounts more than once a month.
Javelin found that 48 percent of all reported identity-fraud cases
were caught by consumers.

l Pay attention to official notices that your personal information has
been lost or stolen. If you get such a letter, regularly monitor your
credit reports or any affected accounts. Take advantage of free credit
monitoring if it's offered.

"A lot of individuals will get a data-breach notice and do absolutely
nothing," Van Dyke said. "They feel the letter itself is an indication
that someone is looking out for them." Identity theft is a crime that
may not seem so serious until it happens to you and your life becomes
filled with frustration for days and weeks as you try to persuade
creditors or even law enforcement officials that you've been a victim.