If you haven’t had your identity stolen — or known anyone who has — you might be in the dark about the effects of identity theft. Along with all of the emotional effects identity theft victims face, there are big financial implications.
This blog post will look at the top 5 financial effects of identity theft as identified in a recently published report.
The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) recently released its 10th annual Identity Theft Aftermath Report in October 2017. To create the report, the ITRC surveyed 176 victims from around the United States about the long-term impacts of having their identity stolen.
“The ability to obtain credit cards or being denied a credit card continues to be the number one area of impact (38.2 percent), up 6.4 percent over last year’s figures. This was followed by the inability to obtain loans (34.2 percent), also up 6 percent. A new response, being in debt due to identity theft, ranked third at 27.6 percent,” according to the report.
The top 5 financial effects of identity theft are as follows:
- Denied a credit card (38%)
- Denied another type of loan, like a student, mortgage or personal loan (34%)
- Currently in debt because of identity theft (27.6%)
- Collection Agencies calling because of fraudulent accounts (21.1%)
- Unable to open a checking/savings account (15.8%)
“The impact of identity theft can be devastating and long-lasting, impacting the victim’s financial well-being in many ways, ranging from bad credit to outright bankruptcy,” said Matt Cullina, a member of the ITRC Board of Directors and an industry expert. “Years of data breaches, culminating in the Equifax breach, have left millions of people exposed to identity theft. Quite simply, it has become one of the most important challenges of our time.”
For more about the Equifax data breach, including some tips on what you can do to stay safe, visit our blog post.
Did you know the average identity theft victim spends 200+ hours trying to repair the damage?
If you have a membership for identity restoration, that time is significantly reduced. LibertyID is an identity restoration company. There’s no limit to the time or money we will spend restoring your identity to pre-event status. If you’re a LibertyID member and your identity is stolen, we will fix it.
A certified restoration specialist will handle all of the legwork (like submitting disputes to lending institutions, utility companies, cell phone carriers, etc. and researching and documenting erroneous info on your credit file and having it removed). They will keep you informed with regular status updates.
The bottom line is there’s really no better time than the present to become a LibertyID member. LibertyID provides expert, full service, fully managed identity theft restoration to individuals, couples, extended families* and businesses. LibertyID has a 100% success rate in resolving all forms of identity fraud on behalf of our subscribers.
*Extended families – primary individual, their spouse/partner, both sets of parents (including those that have been deceased for up to a year), and all children under the age of 25
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