In July 2004, questions were added to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to provide ongoing estimates of identity theft victimization.  For the purposes of the survey, identity theft was defined to include the following three behaviors:

• unauthorized use or attempted use of existing credit cards
• unauthorized use or attempted use of other existing accounts such as checking accounts
• misuse of personal information to obtain new accounts or loans, or to commit other crimes.

Findings, as published in the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) publication, Identity Theft, 2004 (2006), represent 6-month prevalence estimates ¹ and are drawn from interviews conducted from July to December 2004. ²

Highlights include:

• In 2004, 3.6 million households, representing 3% of the households in the United States, discovered that at least one member of the household had been the victim of identity theft during the previous six months. ³
• Households headed by persons age 18-24, those in urban or suburban areas, and those in the highest income bracket ($75,000 or more) were the most likely to experience identity theft.  Victimization did not differ by race or ethnicity.
• 3 in 10 households experiencing any type of identity theft discovered it by missing money or noticing unfamiliar charges on an account; almost 1 in 4 were contacted about late or unpaid bills.
• About two-thirds of households experiencing identity theft reported some type of a monetary loss as a result of theft.  The average loss was $1,290. Some households for which misuse was still ongoing at the time of the interview may have continued to suffer losses.
• About 1 in 6 victimized households had to pay higher interest rates as the result of identity theft, and 1 in 9 households were denied phone or utility service. Households were equally likely to be turned down for insurance or pay higher rates, be the subject of a civil suit or judgment, or be the subject of a criminal investigation (7%, 5%, and 4%, respectively).

The Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel collects information about consumer fraud and identity theft from the FTC and over 150 other organizations, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Secret Service, fourteen Attorney Generals Offices, and various State and local law enforcement agencies. According to the FTC report, Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data (January-December 2006) (2007), the Consumer Sentinel received over 670,000 consumer fraud and identity theft complaints between January and December 2006. Findings from an analysis of those complaints include:

• Of the more than 670,000 complaints received during calendar year 2006, 64% represented fraud and 36% were identity theft complaints.
• Credit card fraud (25%) was the most common form of reported identity theft followed by phone or utilities fraud (16%), bank fraud (16%), and employment fraud (14%). Other significant categories of identity theft reported by victims were government documents/benefits fraud (10%) and loan fraud (5%).
• “Electronic Fund Transfer” related identity theft was the most frequently reported type of identity theft bank fraud during calendar year 2006.

The metropolitan areas with the highest per capita rates of reported identity theft are Napa, California; Madera, California; and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas.

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