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Reports show identity theft is a growing business, costing billions – Strong increase in losses occur when data entrusted to 3rd party

Posted in November 30th, 2007

San Francisco Chronicle

More than 8 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2005, as hundreds of data breaches cost businesses and consumers untold billions.

Those are the findings of two reports that estimate the consequences and costs of all the electronic data losses that have put at least 215 million sensitive records into the wrong hands and spawned a new criminal epidemic of identity theft since counting began in 2005.

The estimate of 8.3 million identify thefts came in a report the Federal Trade Commission issued Monday…

…But in February, market research firm Gartner put the estimate of identity theft victims nearly twice as high, suggesting that 15 million Americans had been victimized in the 12-month period ending August 2006. McNabb said the Gartner report was based on responses by 5,000 adults who took part in an Internet survey – leaving open the question of which estimate is closer to the facts, and whether the phone or Internet survey is superior…

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