According to the results of a recently released 2008 U.S. Justice Department study an estimated 11.7 million Americans (aged 16 and over) were victims of identity theft. The survey of 56,500 household residents is the first time the Bureau of Justice Statistics has collected data on these types of property crimes.

According to a press release from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 23 percent of those victimized suffered some financial loss, but the total cost to society came to $17.3 billion during the two-year period of the study. It also calculates that 6.2 million people were victims of the unauthorized use of credit cards, the most common variety of identity theft.

In the survey, “identity theft” was defined as the attempted or successful misuse of an existing account, such as a debit or credit account, misuse of personal information to open a new account, or misuse of personal information for other fraudulent purposes.

Findings of the survey included (estimates):

• 16 percent of all victims experienced multiple types of identity theft during the two-year period.
• 23 percent of all victims suffered an out-of-pocket financial loss due to the victimization, with the average out-of-pocket financial loss being $1,870.
• 40 percent of victims had some idea about how their identifying information was obtained.

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