Did you know that an identity is stolen every 3 seconds? So 1, 2, 3, yup at least one identity was stolen….. Mind blowing!
The digital age has brought about a great many positive changes for the world. Unfortunately, however, there have also been plenty of downsides to the technology revolution. One major area of concern is identity theft. The theft of financial and medical data has risen sharply in recent years, so make sure you watch out!
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States and affects as many as 1 in 20 consumers. Basically, someone will take your personal information (e.g. social security number) and misuse it for fraudulent purposes.
Another popular type of identity theft is medical ID theft. This is similar to normal identity theft, except the thief is using your information to receive health treatment, prescription drugs, or something else medical related. 2 million people were affected by this in 2011 alone.
Data breaches are also very common. When a data breach happens, a thief makes off with a lot of records for people. This can happen with hospitals, credit card companies, employers, and elsewhere. In fact, 94 percent of hospitals have suffered some sort of data breach in the last 2 years.
The increased use of computers, prominence of smartphones, and use of electronic records are all making identity theft much easier. Sadly, organized crime, corporate espionage, and cyberterrorism will likely only cause it to rise in the future.
Thanks IDexperts for filling us in!
