Millennials age 18-24 more likely to be victims of identity theft than their parents

With story from The Washington Post

Young people age 18-24 are the big target for identity theft says a new survey.  They are the most open with online information and leave themselves vulnerable. Many people are posting their birth date, sex and city of residence on Facebook. That can be enough to access credit cards, bank accounts and other online services including getting a duplicate social security number or social insurance number.

“Millennials don’t protect enough or detect enough,” said James Van Dyke, president of Javelin Strategy & Research, a California-based company that examined where identity theft threats are coming from and what effects they are having on consumers.

It takes young people an average of 132 days to detect fraudulent activity on their credit cards, bank accounts and other personal holdings, and those in older age groups average 49 days, the survey shows. When their identities are stolen, Millennials are victimized by thieves for an average of about five months.

“The 18-to-24 group is unique. They’re going to college. They’re away from home for the first time. They’re sharing more information. More of their information is exposed,” Van Dyke said. “The old stereotype is true that people are sharing information willy-nilly and are waiting until they become a victim to listen to sound advice.” Washington Post

Trusting others and file sharing lead to having computers infected with virus and bots that steal login id’s and passwords. One student said “I have no money in the bank. What could they take?”

They – meaning criminals – can move from your banking and ID information to open credit cards, take out loans and otherwise ruin your credit rating. People discover months later someone has borrowed money in their name and it is too late to tell the bank or lending agency.

“Thieves stole $400 from law student Gregory Peltz after he opened a tab at an Ohio dive bar, giving the bartender his debit card for the evening as he rang up drinks. He was shocked when his bank called him days later and told him that someone had withdrawn cash from the account, even without the card.”

“Ryan Thomas, an airman in the Air Force Honor Guard, bought some DVDs on the Internet using his debit card. It was a $20 payment made from his account, which had about $900. But the following day, his account balance was zero. Someone had stolen his account information and bought computer games and other items.”

“Last year, there were an estimated 11.1 million identity fraud victims of all ages, a 12 percent increase from the year before, according to the survey. Thieves stole about $54 billion from them, according to the study, which surveyed 5,000 people nationwide, 703 of whom had been victims of identity theft. Identity thieves steal an average of $4,841 per victim, but the end cost to each person is about $373, because banks generally reimburse the victims. Victims spend about 21 hours resolving their cases and getting their money back, the survey shows.”

Quotes from the Washington Post. Read the rest of the story.