Identity thieves are nearly impossible to catch and prosecute. Their numbers are growing, as are their methods for stealing people’s personal, financial, and health care information.
In 2023, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission logged more than 1 million reports of identity theft. That worked out to more than 2,800 reports per day, or roughly one incidence of theft every 30 seconds. And those are just the ones collected by the FTC.
Through October, the number of identity theft reports in 2024 stood at 842,000, which means this year’s rate will surely exceed 2023. If so, it will be the first time since at least 2020 in which the FTC received more theft reports in a year than in the previous year.
About 45 percent of FTC identity theft complaints involve credit card data.
The state with the highest incidence of identity theft, according to the FTC? That would be Florida, with 395 reports per 100,000 population, followed by their northerly neighbor Georgia at 384 per 100,000.
Other states with high incidences of identity theft include:
- Nevada (356 per 100,000)
- District of Columbia (322)
- Delaware (299)
- Texas (295)
- Massachusetts (285)
- California (264)
Which state has the least amount of identity theft? Give a round of applause to South Dakota, which has only 72 reports per 100,000 population through October 2024.
No matter where you live, with so many criminals working against you, you need somebody working 24/7 to help you monitor and resolve potential identity thefts.
Identity Theft Resolution Services for TIE members
As a member of one of the 60 professional associations that participate in the Trust for Insuring Educators (TIE), you now have access to two identity support services:
- ID Responder+ is a one-call resolution service that helps you quickly restore your compromised identity and repair any financial damage. If you know or suspect your identity has been stolen, one call to a special 24/7 hotline will initiate a range of services to limit the damage caused by identity theft.
- ID Defender+ is comprehensive monitoring and resolution service designed to keep your identity out of the hands of cybercriminals. It includes all the features of ID Responder+ plus essential 24/7 monitoring and prevention services.
Both services include ScamAssist. This service provides you with direct access to specialists who can help identify fraudulent communication and phishing schemes -- before you click -- to help keep your identity safe.
If you receive an email, text message, phone call or piece of mail that you’re unsure of, or if want to know whether a website is legitimate, ScamAssist researchers will:
- Investigate the submitted message for signs of fraud.
- Compare offers to known scams using a proprietary methodology.
- Provide a detailed assessment of what they believe is the level of legitimacy.
- Provide relevant educational resources on common scams.
Members can use ScamAssist up to four times a month.
Enroll Today
You can enroll today in either ID Responder+ or ID Defender+ at a special rate provided to members of TIE professional associations.
For more information, including a list of services provided by each product and limitations of these services, check out the identity theft resolution product information.