Approximately one in four Australians (25%) has experienced misuse of personal information at some time in their lives, and, on average, identity crime victims lose $300 per incident.
Victims of the “New Accounts and Other Frauds” type of ID Theft estimated that they had spent almost $1,200 on average. Thus, the total annual cost of ID Theft to its victims appears to be about $5.0 billion, with victims of “New Accounts & Other Frauds” ID Theft bearing $3.8 billion of that total.
The estimated cost of identity crime in Australia in 2018–19 (including direct and indirect costs) was $3.1b—17 percent more than in 2015–16. Even accounting for inflation of 5.4 percent over the three years (1.8% per year; Reserve Bank of Australia 2020), this increase is considerable.
Highlights From This Year's Report: Total identity fraud losses were $43 billion. That's down from $52 billion the year before, a decline of 17%.
Summary: Identity fraud cost US businesses an estimated total of $56 billion in 2021. When company employees fall prey to identity theft, there is a risk of a serious data breach or ransomware attack on that company. Protect yourself, employees, and your company from financial loss with identity theft protection.
Why should I care if someone steals my identity? You will be responsible for what the thief does while using your personal information. You might have to pay for what the thief buys. This is true even if you do not know about the bills.
The average cost of identity theft protection hinges on the provider, level of protection, and plan type. Generally, these services range from around $10 to $30 per month. Annual plans for both individuals and families may cost $150–$350 per year.
Identity theft is a growing problem in Australia and across the globe. Data breaches and cybercrime are on the increase, as the 2022 cyber-attacks, exposing the personal details of millions of Optus and Medibank customers have highlighted.
Identity theft has become an epidemic in Missouri and across the United States, claiming over 10 million victims last year alone. It's also one of the most costly crimes to consumers and businesses, and is the fastest growing white collar crime in America according to the FTC.
Personal information is cheap. Your identity could get sold on the dark web for a low as $1, which means identity thieves need to steal a lot of information to make a profit. Scanned pictures of driver's licenses, passports, and utility bills go for about $10-35 per document.
Part 4AB of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) criminalises identity fraud related offences. As outlined in 192J, it is an offence to deal with identification information with the intention of committing, or of facilitating the commission of, an indictable offence. A maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment is applicable.
What are the odds of being a victim of identity theft? Studies have found that 4.5% of people in the US become victims of identity fraud every year. Americans are much more likely to have their identity stolen when compared to other people. One million children also become victims of fraud crimes every year.
For example, identity fraud can result in someone using another individual's identity to open a bank account, get a credit card, apply for a passport or conduct illegal activity. Your identity can be stolen if a thief accesses your personal information, including from any document that contains information about you.
(1) Any person who, with intent to defraud any person, falsely represents himself or herself to be some other person, living or dead, real or fictitious, is guilty of an offence which, unless otherwise stated, is a misdemeanour, and the person is liable to imprisonment for 3 years.
It is relatively easy to get your identity stolen. All a thief needs is some of your personal information, such as your name, address and date of birth.
These are some signs to look out for: Unusual bills or charges that you don't recognise appear on your bank statement. Mail that you're expecting doesn't arrive. You get calls or texts about products and services you've never used.
People ages 30 to 39 are most likely to get their identities stolen. 51% of victims of identity theft had an annual income of $75,000 or more. Caucasians made up 71% of all identity theft victims. 14% of the victims report they have lost more than $10,000 due to identity theft.
Are identity thieves ever caught? Identity theft statistics for 2020 are not available yet; however, 2006 research showed that federal authorities arrest only 0.14% of the criminals (one person in 700 identity theft suspects). In contrast, nearly 45% of violent crime and 16% of property crime suspects were arrested.
In many cases, identity thieves will continue to exploit a victim's identity until they no longer can — and the longer the theft goes on, the harder it can be to untangle.
Budget's $9.9b cybersecurity spending is worth every dollar. It's a lot of money, but at tech industry rates, this is a good price for protecting Australia from online threats.
So, the Personal Fraud survey showed us that about two thirds of Australians aged fifteen and over were exposed to a scam in the last 12 months. So, we're talking about 13.2 million people, which was up from 11.1 million in the previous financial year.
Avoid giving out personal information over the Internet. Never click on a link or open an attachment in an email from someone you don't know and trust. Regularly install and update anti-virus protection software. Avoid using public computers to access your personal information.
Many credit card companies and banks have customer protection plans in place to protect against identity theft or to recover funds from fraudulent purchases. Credit reporting companies and private insurers also offer fee-based identity theft protection plans, but their benefits have mixed reviews.
Is identify theft protection worth it? If you're at high risk of becoming a victim of identity theft, have already been a victim, or simply want professional monitoring and protection, an identity theft protection service could be worth the cost.
Change the passwords, pin numbers, and log in information for all of your potentially affected accounts, including your email accounts, and any accounts that use the same password, pin, or log in information. Contact your police department, report the crime and obtain a police report.