Florida third in nation for identity theft
Florida ranks third in the nation in the number of identity
theft complaints filed, according to the Federal Trade
Commission.
Identity and other complaints of theft hit 57,472 in Florida in
2008. Of those, 24,440 complaints were related to identity theft.
Credit card debt led that category, with 4,973 complaints.
Other identity theft related complaints include:
- Government documents or benefits fraud, 4,466
- Bank fraud, 3,135
- Employment-related fraud, 2,413
- Phone or utilities fraud, 2,327
- Loan fraud, 1,010
- Other, 6,199
- Attempted identity theft, 1,432
The states reporting the most complaints - Arizona, California
and Florida - coincide with the states reporting the highest rates
of foreclosure, demonstrating that the economic downturn has
coincided with an upturn in fraud, according to Affinion Security
Center, which provides personal data security services for
consumers and businesses.
"The difficult economic environment is coinciding with a
significant increase in cases of identity theft," Affinion
President Tom Rusin said.
The FTC report showed that credit card fraud was the most common
form of identity theft.
Nationwide, the FTC said it received 1.2 million complaints
related to fraud, identity theft and other consumer complaints in
2008, resulting in losses of more than $1.8 billion. That's a 50
percent increase over 2007.
"We think that the number of complaints that the FTC receives
are just the tip of the iceberg, and there are actually many more
cases of identity theft that go unreported," Affinion Vice
President Dan Clements said. "Americans, more than any other
nation, are vulnerable to identity theft."