Posts tagged "Identity Theft Statistics"

15 Data Security Tips to Protect Your Small Business

Thanks to SmallBusinessComputing.com and Jennifer Schiff for this article!

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In August 2010, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse published its latest Chronology of Data Breaches, which showed that since 2005 more than a half-billion sensitive records have been breached. Of those breached records — which contained such sensitive data as customer credit card or social security numbers — approximately one-fifth came from retailers, merchants and other types of non-financial, non-insurance-related businesses, the majority of which were small to midsized.

An equally scary statistic: approximately 80 percent of small businesses that experience a data breach go bankrupt or suffer severe financial losses within two years of a security breach, according to John Sileo, a professional identity theft consultant and speaker, who knows firsthand about the havoc a security breach can wreak on a small business.

Posted in Fraud Detection & Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker .
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92% of U.S. Babies Are Online

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According to a recent survey by the Internet Security Firm AVG, more than 8 out of 10 babies worldwide under the age of 2 have some sort of online presence. A staggering 92% of American babies have an online presence compared to 73% of babies in Western Europe. The study covered 2,200 mothers in the UK and eight other industrialized countries. With new technology and social media outlets such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, mothers and fathers are eager to post photos and write about their children –  even before the baby is born.

When these children become adults, it will be literally impossible for them to separate from their digital past. I can just see the photos and stories posted when they begin to run for office, try to find a job or meet a partner. Digital memory lasts forever, and it is very unforgiving. Those of us older than about 35 have had a chance to put our bad decisions behind us. Children born today will have every aspect of their life recorded, uploaded, backed up, forwarded and publicized completely without their consent.

Posted in Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Law Enforcement Cuts Mean Identity Theft Will Continue to Rise

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Identity theft prevention has become more important than ever before. All over the country, budget cuts have forced many law enforcement agencies to lay-off a large number of employees.  The Oakland Police Station cut 80 officers from their force of 687 last month alone. Such severe cuts leave the department ill-equipped to respond to calls involving burglary, vandalism and especially identity theft.

Non-violent crimes have sunk to the bottom of police stations agenda. With no funds to investigate these crimes and catch the criminals, identity theft rates will continue to rise. Criminals will see this as an opportunity to prey on victims and steal  identity for financial gain without any consequences.

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Posted in Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker .
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2009 Identity Theft Statistics

Javelin Stratecy and Research

Statistics can be dry but these figures could prompt you to zealously guard your most valuable asset, your identity. According to Javelin Strategy and Research, Identity Fraud continues to rise, but mean customer costs and resolution time have decreased. In their latest 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report they found that Identity fraud has risen to 11.1 MILLION US victims, which is up 12% from 9.9 MILLION in 2008. That is a significant climb.

  • 4.81 % of the US population is a victim of Identity Fraud.
  • The total fraud amount in 2009 reached 54 BILLION dollars, which is up from 48 BILLION dollars in 2008.
  • Consumers who monitor their accounts electronically have shorter detection times and their consumer costs are over 50% less.
  • Social Security Number thefts remain the top breached data and one of the most difficult frauds to detect.
  • Posted in Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker .
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    Identity Theft Statistics: Gallup Poll

    According to a new Gallup poll of identity theft statistics, 66% of adults worry the most about their identities being stolen.

    Gallup trends measuring Americans’ fear of being victims of specific crimes date back several decades, but for each of 10 crimes, the question has been updated annually on Gallup’s Crime survey since 2000. Terrorism was added to the list in 2001, and 2009 marks the first year identity theft has been included.  Gallup says the reason for big worries about identity theft might have to do with the high-profile attention lawmakers and identity-protection firms have been placing on it.

    Frequent/Occasional Worry About Various Types of Crime

    Posted in Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker .
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