According to Javelin Strategy & Research’s 2015 Identity Fraud Study, 22% of students were notified about identity fraud by a debt collector or when they were denied credit, which is three times higher than average fraud victims.
Javelin Strategy and Research reports that overall identity fraud resulted in the loss of USD 16 billion from 12.7 million consumers in the US in 2014, according to the news release. The loss amount is an 11% decrease from USD 18 billion in 2013 and the number of victims also declined by 3% from 13.1 million in 2013 to 12.7 million last year.
New account fraud, in which a consumer’s name is used to open an account they did not authorize, reached a record low in 2014 but continues to be one of the most damaging types of fraud. Victims of new account fraud are three times more likely to take a year or more to discover the fraud compared to other types, such as use of an existing credit card or bank account.
Among other findings in the study, two-thirds of identity fraud victims previously received a data breach notification in the same year and many indicated they are hesitant about shopping at merchants, according to the news release. 28% of fraud victims said they avoided merchants after a theft occurred.
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