Identity theft statistics, Real numbers affecting Americans credit reports

Although FTC’s Identity theft statistics reports show that over 10 million American consumers have been victims of some form of identity theft, the worst part is realizing that identity theft statistics show this number to be dramatically increasing over the past few years. Growing as much as 40 percent from year to year, this type of fraud is on the top of consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission.

Identity theft statistics estimated that identity theft costs over 50 billion dollars per year. Not to mention the time fraud victims spend resolving it, which amounts to 300 million hours per year. That’s a very huge toll for any country to pay. It’s up to each and every one to do everything within their power to prevent this from happening – and this simply means following some basic safety guidelines to prevent becoming a new identity theft victim.

Protection for yourself from identity thieves can be simpler than you think: Not throwing sensitive documentation away without shredding it first; selecting intricate passwords on any website that requires you to enter your social security number; those are just a few easy-to-remember things that can save you from nasty surprises later on. If you want to have a look at how serious this issue really is, you can check the FTC "identity theft statistics" reports on their official website.