Identity theft remains a challenge for consumers as fraudsters develop new ways to scam including a new focus on loyalty and rewards programs and retirement accounts. Also, criminals are finding ways around authentication processes.

The Consumer Sentinel Network, maintained by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), tracks consumer fraud and identity theft complaints. Of the 3.2 million identity theft and fraud reports received in 2019, 1.7 million were fraud-related and about 651,000 were identity theft complaints. In 2019 consumers reported losing more than $1.9 billion related to fraud complaints with the median amount consumers paid in these cases being $320. Within the fraud category, imposter scams were the most reported and ranked first among the top 10 fraud categories identified by the FTC. They accounted for $667 million in losses.

The best protection is to be aware of current scams and following the fraud and ID theft protection tips in the articles to the right.

ID Theft Articles

Ways Identity Theft Occurs
Protect Yourself from Identity Theft
Protect Yourself Online
What is Vishing and Smishing?