| FTC releases survey of identity theft in US The Federal Trade Commission has released a survey showing that 27.3 million Americans have been victims of identity theft in the last five years, including 9.9 million people in the last year alone. According to the survey, last year’s identity theft losses to businesses and financial institutions totalled nearly $48 billion and consumer victims reported $5 billion in out-of-pocket expenses. The agency also released a Commission report detailing its ID theft programme since its inception. “These numbers are the real thing,” said Howard Beales, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “For several years we have been seeing anecdotal evidence that identity theft is a significant problem that is on the rise. Now we know. It is affecting millions of consumers and costing billions of dollars. This information can serve to galvanise federal, state, and local law enforcers, the business community, and consumers to work together to combat this menace.” The FTC maintains the US’s primary identity theft Web site, which provides critical resources for consumers, businesses, and law enforcers at www.consumer.gov/idtheft
•Date:
4th September 2003 • Region: N.America •Type:
Article •Topic: BC
general
|
