Kim Komando’s most recent column in USA Today begins by stating that 8.3 million Americans were the victims of identity theft in 2005.
The column goes on to suggest ways that Americans can protect themselves — most of them very sensible, if you’re looking for some tips.
But I couldn’t really get over the first couple sentences.
Is it really possible that almost 3 percent of the nation’s population (and probably 4 or 5 percent of its adult population) suffered ID theft in a single year?
That would mean that a reasonably social adult who knows the business of more than 100 people (through friends and family and gossip around the office and neighborhood) should hear of at least three people a year getting their ID stolen.
That just doesn’t seem right. I certainly know of 3 victims, but given those numbers I should know 9 or 10 in just the past three years.
Given that the numbers are from 2005, I’m guessing they come from FBI stats, which are generally pretty good, but I repeat, it just doesn’t seem like it could be that high.
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