A recent study on identity theft by the center for identity management and information protection focused on identity theft offenders rather than victims, as in previous studies.  The purpose of the study, funded by the Dept of Justice, was to assist both public and private sectors in order to combat identity theft crimes.

The Secret Service cases (517 cases, 933 defendents) that were reviewed included only those where personal information was used to commit fraud.  “Personal information includes name, address, social security number, and date of birth, but excludes credit cards, debit cards, and other bank cards.” 

The results of the study included some interesting findings:

The Cases

• Most cases were from the northeastern United States
• About half of the defendents were sentenced to incarceration
• Median dollar loss was $31,356

The Offenders

• By Age:
• 42.5% were 25 to 34 years of age
• 33% were 35 to 49 years of age
• 18.5% were 18 to 24 years of age
• 6% were 50 years or older
• 53.8% were black, 38.3% were white, 4.8% were hispanic
• 1/3 were female, of which almost 2/3 were black
• 24.1% were born outside of the United States – the top 5 countries represented were Mexico, Nigeria, the UK, Cuba, and Israel
• 71% had no prior arrests
• The most common motivation was personal gain (obtain and use credit, procure cash, conceal actual identity, apply for auto loans)

The Crime

• Fraud was the leading crime committed by identity theft - larceny was the next most frequent
• 42.4% of the cases involved 2 to 45 offenders
• 50% of cases involved the use of the internet and/or other technological devices
• 20% of cases involved change of address forwarding and dumpster diving
• Of 274 cases, a business (service, retail, financial industry, corporation) was the point of compromise in 50% of the cases – a family member was the point of compromise in 16%
• 1/3 of the cases involved identity theft through employment – 43.8% were in the retail industry (stores, car dealerships, gas stations, casinos, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, doctors offices) and 20% were private corporations

The Victims

• 37.1% of the victims were financial industry organizations (banks, credit unions, credit card companies)
• 34.3% of the victims were individuals
• 21.3% of the victims were retail businesses (stores, car dealerships, gas stations, casinos, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, doctors offices)
• 59% of the individuals victimized did not know the offenders – 10.5% were customers or clients – 5% were family members
• 20.3% of the offenders committed identity theft at their place of employment – 59.7% in retail, 22.2% in the financial services industry