IDIQ Joins Identity Theft Resource Center in Releasing New Report on Trends in Identity Theft and Scams

– The report highlights 80% of victims had their identity compromised due to a scam –

IDIQ®, a leader in identity theft protection and credit monitoring featuring the flagship IdentityIQ® brand, has partnered with the Identity Theft Resource Center® (ITRC), a nationally-recognized nonprofit organization established to support victims of identity theft, to release the newest report looking at identity crimes – the 2022 Trends in Identity Report.

This report explores key findings based on contacts from nearly 15,000 reports to the ITRC of identity compromises, misuse, and abuse from individuals across the country. The 2022 Trends in Identity Report indicates identity thieves are getting better at using social engineering techniques to convince people to share personal, financial, and important business information.

The report found 80% of identity compromises were due to a scam, a 3% increase from the previous year. Of those scams, an overwhelming majority of people who contacted the ITRC – 61% – reported being the victims of a Google Voice scam.

Other trends found in the report involve:

• Of total crimes reported to the ITRC, 55% were due to compromised credentials, 40% were due to misused credentials, 3% requested prevention and 1% reported attempted misuse of credentials.
• Of the 7% of federal accounts that were misused – 78% were due to IRS accounts.
• Misused social media accounts made up 72% of non-government and non-financial account abuse.
• For the misuse of stolen information, a majority reported account takeover (61%) versus new account creation (32%).
• An increase in reports of Social Security numbers being misused to gain employment and used by individuals committing crimes.
• An increase in identity thieves using driver’s license information to get fraudulent auto loans, open new bank accounts and cell phone accounts.
• A surge in the number of people requesting information on how to help prevent identity theft.

The report also lists the top five states for identity scams. They include:

1. California
2. Texas
3. New York
4. Florida
5. Pennsylvania

These trends arrive at a time when there is growing concern in all levels of government and the private sector about the overwhelming number of identity crimes and the toll of identity fraud on individuals and businesses.

"We are proud to be working with such an impactful organization as the Identity Theft Resource Center to educate consumers about the biggest identity threats we are seeing in the industry," said Scott Hermann, CEO of IDIQ. “The number of identity theft victims is increasing every day and this partnership with the ITRC helps advance our mission to educate and protect consumers and their identities.”

“We hope the findings from this report will help educate and protect the public by providing them with insights into the newest identity theft trends and scams.”

Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, said, “We have seen changes over the last year in the identity crime landscape, including a lack of transparency in data breach notices and Black communities feeling the financial impacts of identity crimes more than the general population.”

“We have also seen some trends stay the same. In 2022, 55% of our reported identity crime cases were related to compromised credentials, and 40 percent were due to misuse of credentials. Google Voice scams and social media account takeovers remain two of the most common reports to the ITRC. These statistics show the reality of identity crimes in the U.S. – individuals and businesses continue to be victimized at an unacceptably high rate.”

IDIQ will be hosting a virtual webinar for partners and potential partners to discuss the 2022 Trends in Identity Report and its findings on July 20, 2023. For more information, email webinar@idiq.com.

View the full 2022 Trends in Identity Report here.

About IDIQ:

IDIQ^® is recognized as one of the fastest-growing industry leaders in identity theft protection and credit report monitoring. With the flagship IdentityIQ^® brand, the company delivers real-time alerts and credit report information to not only protect but also educate consumers and businesses. The company features 100% U.S.-based customer service and support. For more information, visit www.IDIQ.com.

About Identity Theft Resource Center:

Founded in 1999, the Identity Theft Resource Center® (ITRC) is a national nonprofit organization established to empower and guide consumers, victims, business and government to minimize risk and mitigate the impact of identity compromise and crime. Through public and private support, the ITRC provides no-cost victim assistance and consumer education through its website live-chat idtheftcenter.org and toll-free phone number 888.400.5530. The ITRC also equips consumers and businesses with information about recent data breaches through its data breach tracking tool, notified. The ITRC offers help to specific populations, including the deaf/hard of hearing and blind/low vision communities.

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