Social Security Numbers, Part Two

Social Security Numbers, Identity Theft, Congress, and Your Protection

Part two of my five part blog,

Identity Theft Crisis

The loss due to identity theft is a staggering $53 billion annually. Businesses account for roughly $48 billion of the annual loss; individuals account for roughly $5 billion of the annual loss. That equates to approximately $4,800 per business and $500 per individual victim in any given fiscal year. Additionally, over 300 million hours are spent annually to resolve the issues relating directly to identity theft. Each victim, both business and individual, spend an average of 45 hours to resolve matters associated with identity theft.

No one can deny that is a considerable amount of money as well as time each year that is spent combating just the repercussions of identity theft.

So what’s the problem? If Congress amends the Social Security Act, less identity fraud is the result, right?

Take a look at who is perpetrating this fraudulent, expensive crime.

· The identity theft victims generally know the perpetrator. In over 25% of all identity theft cases, the victim is related to or knows the thief.
· The identity theft victims generally work with or around the perpetrator. More than 70% of all identity theft cases are considered an inside job. This can occur wherever you may use your credit card or debit card such as a pizza parlor or the grocery store. However, this can occur within your own workplace environment by a co-worker or visitor that happens to choose your wallet or purse to steal. Surprisingly, a large percentage of these thefts are occurring by the boss or management.
· Approximately 30% of identity theft occurred when the victim lost or had stolen the credit cards and/or account information.

Patrick L. Baird
Private Investigator

Part One >>: "SS Numbers, Part One"

Part Two >>: "SS Numbers, Part Two - Identity Theft Crisis"

Part Three >>: "SS Numbers, Part Three - Legitimate Uses for the SSN"

Part Four >>: "SS Numbers, Part Four - Other Legitimate Uses for the SSN"

Part Five >>: "SS Numbers, Part Five - The Solution"