Costs Related to New Theft: Guard Identity
Because identity theft is a somewhat newer crime that is only recently growing in occurrence, many people underestimate identity theft costs. It is clear that there will be monetary costs involved because one of the primary components of identity theft is usually financial. A good percentage of the population probably underestimates identity theft costs because they underestimate the frequency with which identity theft is committed. It is a crime that is far more common that most people realize, and the majority believe that it will never happen to them. However, it is important to understand the facts relating to identity theft so that this growing trend can be halted and the resulting consequences made less devastating for the victims.
Types of Identity Theft Costs
Identity theft costs are not limited to only the financial arena, although this is one of the easiest areas in which to evaluate and analyze the results of this crime. A study conducted by the Identity Theft Resource Center in 2003 states that in most cases, the average of unauthorized charges attributed to identity theft is around $90,000 per victim. Although this number is plenty large enough to elicit serious concern, there are many other--often intangible--identity theft costs related to identity theft.
Identity theft is more than just the theft of bank account information, credit cards, or other financial data. In many cases, identity theft amounts to a full-fledged take-over of someone's legal identity that not only gives the identity thief the freedom to do things and spend money fradulently--as they impersonate the victim--but also limits the victim from living as him or herself. The effects of identity theft can be seen, in addition to bank and credit card statements, on driver's reports, insurance information, criminal records, etc. There is virtually no limit to how far an identity thief can carry the crime.
Although identity theft is now accepted as a legitimate crime with real consequences, the path the victim must take has not become any easier. One example of identity theft costs is that the legal records of the transactions and actions done by the thief is very hard to erase or correct. Victims of identity theft now have the potential to realize what is going on sooner, but it is taking longer and longer to correct the situation in the records. In the meantime, these victims could be prevented from buying a house, obtaining insurance, or making any other significant financial decision because of an inaccurate credit and financial report. Correcting all the mistakes and reclaiming one's identity requires an extensive amount of time, often amounting to over 600 hours--time many people do not have to dedicate to "solving" a crime.