The Cost of Identity Theft

IDENTITY THEFT can be extremely costly in terms of time, money, effort, aggravation, property loss, credit approvals, job applications, productivity, admission to schools or housing, embarrassment, social activities, criminal charges, lawsuits, legal services, security clearances, morale and, most importantly, your personal or business reputation!

Here are some important facts from the FTC...

• The average victim of identity theft spends 200 to 600 hours trying to resolve their case and restore their identity, which is often based on their Social Security number (SSN).
• The average out-of-pocket cost to an ID theft victim over $1,500—money that could have been used for needed purchases, debt reduction or other obligations, this on top of the 200 to 600 hours.
• As many as 12% of identity theft victims—1 in 8—must spend time trying to clear their names of the criminal activity actually committed by ID thieves who gave the victim's name and SSN instead of their own when arrested for those crimes.
• This problem may never be fully corrected and could lead to erroneous arrests, imprisonment, air travel refusals, increased medical insurance cost, etc.

Identity Theft can result in any of a wide variety of costly or embarrassing consequences to your business…

• Innocent employees arrested at their place of employment, often followed by lawsuits against their employer or others. [In some jurisdictions, firms have been held legally liable if employees prove that their employer had negligently handled personal information that led to an incident of identity theft.]
• Damaged business reputation and public image.
• Lost time, increased stress, lower morale and productivity, needless expenses, costly errors due to relevant distractions, higher insurance or loan rates, negative attitudes that affect customer service, deteriorating quality of work, lower company and/or employee earnings, and less repeat business.
• Federal and /or State fines, which could lead to costly litigation.