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Identity Theft Continues To Climb
John Stith
Staff Writer
2006-02-02
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A new study published yesterday said identity fraud was up to $57 billion in 2005. While online fraud was significant, it wasn't the main factor. The study suggested only 10% of ID fraud cases happened on the online.
According to the study put together by the Council of Better Business Bureaus and Javelin Strategy and Research, identity fraud cost consumers around 4% more than the previous year. The average fraud hit $6,383.
One of the interesting things pointed out was the fact that the actual number of reported fraud cases was down 4% from 2004. The data also said that younger people with lower incomes were the most vulnerable.
They study was conducted by phone surveys of 5000 respondents, more than 500 of which were victims of identity fraud. The actual damage done on the Internet though was only 9% of the fraud cases. Only 3% were attributed to phishing scams.
While there was much more information in the study, perhaps the most important thing was that people are getting smarter about their identity related activities. They're taking more precautions on the Internet and in other areas of their life.
Also it says that the Internet is just as secure as any other form of shopping or conducting business using things like credit cards or debit cards and other information.
Perhaps with more vigilant behavior and more secure technology, the Internet can become the safest way to conduct business.
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About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
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