Identity theft declines in United States

Identity theft in the U.S. is on the decline, according to the 2007 Identity Fraud Survey Report by Javelin Strategy & Research (Javelin), which also identified risk differentiators between age and income demographics.
“Identity fraud is dropping in the United States down by an estimated 12% over the previous year, which translates into a total fraud reduction of US$6.4 billion,” says a Javelin statement.
The report identified a significant reduction in fraudulent new account openings using a person’s private information, traditionally one of the most common types of fraud.
Adult victims between the ages of 18 and 24 are least likely to take easy but important safeguards such as shredding documents and using antivirus software and firewalls, resulting in more than 5% of those surveyed falling victim.
“Americans with the lowest income surveyed — those earning US$15,000 or less are least likely to be victims of identity fraud, with only 2.8% reporting cases.
Those earning US$150,000 per year are the most likely to be victimized, with 7.3% reporting abuses.
“When the lowest income population is victimized, misuse lasts twice as long and the fraud is hardest to uncover, taking on average 70% longer to detect than fraud in the higher income populations,” the Javelin statement reports.