Id Theft Use Of Credit Cards Leaps

[Peaches]

ID Theft Use of Credit Cards Leaps

Erik Larkin

"ID theft victims are much more likely to get hit with fraudulent charges on their credit cards or debit cards, according to a new study from the Identity Theft Resource Center that tracks the effects of ID theft.

In 2008, 39 percent of victims saw such charges, more than twice the 15 percent from 2007, according to the study. Opening a new credit account in the victim's name is still the most common use of a victim's identity, involving about two-thirds of all ID theft cases. The data is based on the experiences of ID theft victims who contact the ITRC.

While repairing the damage from ID theft involves some cost for things like police reports, photocopying, travel, etc., ranging from an average of $739 for dealing with damage done to an existing account to $951 to fix the aftermath of a fraudulently opened new account, the real pain comes from the time spent dealing with the mess. It took 58 hours on average to deal with ID theft involving existing accounts, and a painful 165 hours for new accounts, the study found."

Story PCWorld - http://www.pcworld.com/article/165585/id_t...l_spx_t_cbintro