Identity Theft Cases Up 23% 2005-7; 3% Of Households Hit

The number of U.S. households with at least one member who experienced one or more types of identity theft increased 23 percent from 2005 to 2007, says the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. A new compilation from the agency says that in the period studied, the number of households that experienced credit card theft increased by 31 percent and the number that experienced multiple types of theft during the same episode increased by 37 percent.

BJS said that during a six month period in 2008 which identity theft victimization data was collected as part of the regular nationa crime victimization survey, 3.3 percent of households discovered that at least one member had been a victim of one or more types of identity theft. Households with incomes of $75,000 or more experienced a higher rate of identity theft than did households in lower income brackets.