ID theft climbs 12 percent in '09

Identity fraud hit more than 11 million adults in the United States last year--a 12 percent increase over the previous year. It came at a big price, too, according to the "2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report" published last week by Javelin Strategy & Research.

The cost of ID fraud reached $54 billion in 2009, the study found. Each case cost an average nearly $5,000, although some cases totaled more than $50,000. The average cost to a victim of identity fraud reached $373 for out-of-pocket expenses to resolve the problem.

In many cases, a breach occurred because of employee carelessness. In some cases hackers managed to attack and get into a system. In every case, something could have been done to make it harder for this information to be accessed.

For the first time, Javelin probed mobile phone-account fraud and found 29 percent of identity-fraud victims reported mobile phone accounts were fraudulently opened in their names.

In an age-related finding, the survey found that young adults--ages 18 to 24 years old--took about twice as long to detect fraud compared to other age groups. The reason: Young adults may not be monitoring their credit card reports as frequently as other age groups.

Whatever you are doing at your company these days, make sure ID theft doesn't become your problem. You are probably acutely aware of its potential to damage your company and hurt your relationships with your customers. Take the time to figure out what can be done to head off disaster.

For more on ID theft:
- see this NetworkWorld.com article

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