30 Identity Theft Statistics 2024 (Worldwide Data)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and affiliated agencies reported 1,036,961 identity theft complaints in 2023, reflecting a 6% decrease from the previous year.

Identity theft can have devastating effects, including draining bank accounts, damaging credit histories, and inflicting psychological harm and emotional distress. Therefore, it is crucial for individuals to take proactive measures to protect themselves against this serious threat.

Let’s take a closer look at the statistics on identity theft, including the number of victims and additional insights on the global impact of this issue.

Identity Theft Statistics 2024 (Top Picks)

• 1,036,961 identity theft complaints were filed with the FTC and affiliated agencies in 2023.
• 30% of Americans reported having their identity stolen last year.
• Nearly one-third of Americans have experienced identity theft.
• Over 100,000 identity theft and data breaches occur each year.
• More than 9 million identities are stolen annually.
• In 2022, 915,000 children were victims of identity theft.
• Identity theft caused losses of $43 billion in 2022.

Did You Know? There are 5.3 billion internet users in the world as of 2024. With such a high number of people accessing the internet, the chances of identity theft rise dramatically.

How Many Cases Of Identity Theft?

In 2023, identity theft complaints fell by 6.3%, from 1,107,053 the previous year to 1,036,961.

Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and partner agencies reported 2,603,556 fraud complaints.

This reflects a 1.6% rise from the 2,563,678 complaints logged in 2022. The financial impact of these fraudulent activities was significant, as total losses surged nearly 16% to reach $10.3 billion in 2023, compared to $8.9 billion in the previous year.

Source: Experian

How Many People Are Affected By Identity Theft?

• More than 100,000 identity theft and personal data breaches occur every year. 
• 246K identity theft reports were recorded in the third quarter of 2023. 

The identity theft decreased in Q3 2023 compared to the past two quarters of 2023, where the numbers recorded were 281K (Q1) and 278K (Q2).

The first quarter of the year 2021 witnessed the highest spike in identity theft reports, reaching 554K. 

The following table displays the number of identity theft reports recorded by the Federal Trade Commission in the past quarters:

Source: FTC 

• FTC has received 0.8 million reports of identity thefts as of the third quarter of 2023. 

According to the estimates, identity theft cases are expected to cross 1 million in 2023 as the nefarious actors find new identity scams. 

In 2022, the FTC received over 1.1 million reports of identity theft.

The following table further details the number of identity theft reports recorded over the years by the FTC. 

Source: FTC

How Many US Citizens Have Their Identity Stolen Each Year?

• Citizens of the United States reported nearly 804,954 identity theft cases in the first three-quarters of 2023. 

This number is far higher than the number recorded before the pandemic breakdown. 

• About 33% of US citizens have been victims of identity theft at some point.

At the same time, 31% of Australian citizens reported facing identity theft in their lifetime. In comparison, only 17% of the UK residents faced the attack. 

Source: Australian Institute of Criminology, Forbes. 

• The highest number of identity thefts was recorded in California. 

The state had 391,517 registered identity theft cases as of 2024. 

At the same time, Georgia was the most victimized by identity theft and fraud when calculated per capita. 1,421 reports per 100K population were recorded in the State. 

Here are further details about the cities most victimized by identity thefts per capita. 

How Much Identity Theft Occurs Online?

• 9 million identities are stolen each year. 

This is just the minimum number of identities stolen yearly. As most people do not report identity theft, the correct number of victims cannot be accurately predicted. 

Source: Federal Trade Commission. 

• 71% of the people discovered within a week that their identity was stolen.

At the same time, 11% of the victims needed more than a month to realize it, and 6% needed more than a year to find it. 

Source: US News. 

How Many Minors Have Had Their Identity Stolen?

• 915,000 children were the target of identity thieves during 2021 and 2022. 

According to the study conducted by Javelin, 1 in 43 children were affected by data breaches between July 2021 and July 2022. 

Source: Javelin. 

• Kids are 51 times more likely to fall victim to identity theft.

The social security number of 10% of American children was used by someone else. It has posed a great threat to the personal details of the Gen Alpha using the internet. 

Source: Fortune. 

How Often Does Employment Identity Theft Occur?

• 8% of all identity theft complaints are from employment-related frauds. 

Over 103,402 cases of employment-related identity theft were reported in 2022. 

Source: FTC.gov, FTC.

How Often Does Identity Theft Happen?

• An identity theft case takes place every 22 seconds. 

Identity theft cases will soon reach an all-time high rate with the increase in the number of identity theft methods. Simple methods to more complicated ones are all increasing.

Hence, experts believe this ratio will increase in 2023, making it a bigger issue.

Source: IdentityTheft.org. 

• 84% of the respondents were at home when they experienced identity theft.  

At the same time, 16% were out of town. This proves that a person can become a victim to identity theft anytime and anywhere. 

Source: US News. 

Identity Theft Victims

In this section, we will take a look at the number of people who fell victim to identity theft and the rate of their awareness about identity theft. 

• The highest number of identity theft reports were submitted by people aged 30 to 39. 

According to the latest report published by FTC, 30% of the victims of identity theft were adults aged between 30 and 39. 

The lowest number of victims were in the age group of 19 and under and 80 and over. 

The following table displays further details about the number and share of identity theft victims belonging to different age groups. 

Source: FTC.

• 64% of the identity fraud victims had no form of identity theft insurance.

According to US news, nearly two-thirds of victims had no identity theft insurance at the time of the attack. 

At the same time, 15% said they were unaware of this service. 

Source: US News. 

• 44% of the victims said that they had taken some legal action against identity theft. 

At the same time, 89% said they are taking extra measures in response to the identity thefts they have gone through. 

Source: US News. 

• Over 60% of the victims reported using a public Wi-Fi network when they fell victim to identity theft.

On the other hand, 38% of the victims reported that they did not use public Wi-Fi networks. In contrast, 2% were not sure about it. 

Public Wi-Fi networks are one of the major security weaknesses, and most people fall victim to identity theft attacks through them. 

Source: US News. 

Losses Due To Identity Theft

This section provides details about the financial and non-financial losses faced by identity theft victims. 

• Total identity fraud losses were $43 billion in 2022.

As per the latest report issued by Javelin, the losses caused by identity thefts reduced by 17% compared to the previous year. In 2021, these losses were recorded to be $52 billion. 

Source: Javelin. 

• 60% of the victims of identity theft required several weeks to regain control over their identity.

While 20% of the victims said that it took them a few months to gain control over their identity. 

Source: US News. 

• An identity theft victim faces a median loss of $500.

This median loss is predicted to increase as people worldwide become digitally dependent. 

Source: Identitytheft.org.

• Around $4 billion is lost to cybercrime each year in the United States alone. 

 $9.44 million is the average cost of a data breach in the United States.

These numbers of identity thefts and data breaches are predicted to increase in upcoming years if required cybersecurity majors are not implemented. 

Types Of Identity Theft

In this section, I have added details about the types of identity thefts and their frequency. 

• The highest number of identity theft cases were recorded as Credit card ID frauds. 

100,890 credit card fraud cases were recorded as of the 3rd quarter of 2023.

The following table displays the number of credit card fraud cases recorded for different types of Identity thefts.

Source: FTC.

• Between $24 million and $55 million are lost yearly due to Credit ID theft in the United Kingdom.

Source: European ATM Security Team. 

General Identity Theft Statistics

In this section, you will come across general facts and figures related to identity theft.

• 42% of users have been victims of social media identity theft.
• 40% of the victims reported being targeted by SMS phishing.
• 33% of victims reported facing a financial account takeover at least once.
• 34% of the victims reported financial losses of $100 to $500 due to identity fraud.

At the same time, 15% reported they experienced losses greater than $1,000.

• 30% of people have been victims of at least one company data breach in 2023.
• 43% of the eCommerce businesses reported that account takeover fraud was responsible for more than 10% of the chargebacks. 
• 22% of US adults have been victims of eCommerce account takeover frauds. 

Source: US News, Radial. 

Conclusion: Over 9 Million Identities Are Compromised Each Year

Identity theft continues to be a major issue, with 1,036,961 complaints reported in 2023, marking a 6% decrease from the previous year. Alarmingly, nearly 30% of Americans have experienced identity theft at some point. 

The financial consequences are significant, with losses amounting to $43 billion in 2022. As digital transactions become more prevalent, individuals must stay informed and take proactive steps to protect themselves against this growing threat. Awareness and preparedness are essential in mitigating the risks associated with identity theft.