Protecting your identity is not as cut and dry as it was before the digital age. Now, with advances in technology, identity thieves have much more tricks and tactics to collect sensitive information, especially in the online world. The prevalence of personal information available through social networking profiles and on the Internet, in general, have made it easier for cyber criminals to collect credentials and personal information. Using an identity theft protection service is the best way to minimize risk and protect your personal information from being misused. Doing this not only gives you added convenience and peace of mind, but also provides more advanced protection than you can achieve on your own. Identity theft can take many forms, from stealing your complete profile – all of your personal information – to gathering bits of your identity and combining that information with other data to create a synthetic profile, so it’s also important to use a best-in-class identity theft protection product that monitors comprehensive credit and non-credit activity.
- Credit: There is no way to completely prevent identity theft, but the best way to minimize your risk is to protect your identity with an identity theft monitoring product or service.
- Non-Credit: The best way to achieve comprehensive identity theft protection is to monitor both credit and non-credit loans.
- Early detection of fraud greatly reduces the financial, emotional and legal burden associated with identity theft.
- People who use an identity theft monitoring product or service have more control over the safety of their family and their identity.
- Support through the restoration process enables victims to quickly and easily get on with their lives.
Javelin 2017 Identity Fraud Report*
- Fraud affects record-high 15.4 million victims. In 2016, fraud incidence rose 16% to affect 6.15% of consumers, from 5.30% in 2015. This is the largest number of victims since Javelin began tracking the incidence of identity fraud in 2003.
- For the first time on record, the incidence of all fraud types increases.
- Existing Account Fraud (EAF): Affected 5.33% of consumers in 2016, up from 4.84% in 2015.
- Existing Card Fraud (ECF): Affected 5.07% of consumers in 2016, up from 4.45% in 2015.
- Existing Non-Card Fraud (ENCF): Affected 1.17% of consumers in 2016, up from 1.16% in 2015.
- Account Takeover (ATO): Affected 0.57% of consumers in 2016, up from 0.42% in 2015.
- New-Account Fraud (NAF): Affected 0.74% of consumers in 2016, up from 0.62% in 2015.
- Identity protection results in measurably lower out-of-pocket costs. Fraud victims ultimately paid 42% less out of pocket if they owned an ID protection service at the time the fraud occurred than if they did not. This delta increases with the severity of the fraud type committed, with ENCF, ATO, and NAF victims paying 52%, 67%, and 84% less out of pocket, respectively, when they owned IDPS products at the time of fraud. Even an IDPS product does not prevent or detect fraud, but it can provide educational resources and assistance for fraud victims seeking restitution.
Fraud affects a record high 15.4 million victims in 2016. This is the largest number of victims since Javelin began tracking the incidence of identity fraud in 2003.
