Identity theft knows no boundaries…All affected but the crime and response varies by ethnicity

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- A new identify theft survey, one of the first to examine how the crime affects both African Americans and Hispanics, confirms that no minority group in the U.S. is safe and that all struggle equally to recover when their identity is stolen. The consumer poll, released today by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, uncovered unique differences in how the crime impacts the daily lives of different populations.

In a crime where time is of the essence to prevent further loss of assets, the survey shows it took minorities on average one and a half months longer than the general population to discover they were a victim.

"Educating the entire population is key to early detection and ultimately prevention of the crime in the first place," said Kirk Herath, chief privacy officer and associate general counsel for Nationwide. "In addition, providing support in the identity recovery phase can speed response time, protect assets and preserve an individual's integrity."

The survey results show African-American and Hispanic victims were more likely than victims from the random sample to have the crime target their checking or savings account.

There also were other slight differences. African-American victims spent an average of 54 hours trying to resolve their case. Hispanic victims average 42 hours and victims from the random sample average 53 hours. Thieves racked up an average of $2,914 in charges using an African-American victim's identity and $2,406 using a Hispanic victim's identity. The general population averaged $3,240 in fraudulent charges.

"While there are interesting differences among the various ethnicities, the survey shows identity theft is a crime with the potential to impact anyone," Herath said.

It takes minorities just as long as other victims to restore their identity. One in four African-American and Hispanic financial identity theft victims have not been able to restore their identities despite averaging nearly a year trying, according to the new survey. These findings mirror a survey of the general population conducted by Nationwide last July. The new survey also shows 95 percent of all victims - regardless of ethnic background - say they were frustrated or had difficulty trying to restore their identity.

According to Herath, there are things that anyone can take to protect their identity:

   - Always sign the back of your credit cards and watch your card when

     transactions occur. Or, instead of signing the card write, "Ask for

     Photo ID." Check your statements with receipts to make sure the charges

     are correct. Notify all card companies of address changes.

   - Avoid leaving cards out for others to see the numbers and don't let

     others borrow your credit cards.

   - Buy a shredder and shred any papers with personal information before

     throwing the papers away.

   - Participate in the annual free credit report program to verify all

     transactions on your credit report. (www.annualcreditreport.com)

   - Keep a record of all your account numbers, company names, expiration

     dates and toll free numbers in a location separate from your cards in

     case they become stolen.

   - Avoid giving your account number out on the phone or Internet unless

     you are certain you are dealing with a trustworthy company.

   - Never respond directly to an e-mail asking you for personal

     information.  Instead, go to your web browser and contact the company

     to determine the e-mail's authenticity.

 

"You need to take all these steps to protect yourself, but you also need a safety net," Herath concluded. "The survey clearly illustrates that most victims had to find out about the crime themselves and are on their own when dealing with it. Most recognize that recovery can be hard work, and very time consuming and that is why it is helpful for victims to have someone working on their behalf that will treat the crime like an emergency."

The survey also provides a statistical snapshot of identity theft victims. According to the survey, the most common African-American victim is a 38-year- old woman who is a college graduate or has some college education. The most common Hispanic victim is a 36-year-old married woman and a college graduate. The most common general population victim is a 46-year-old white male, who is married and a college graduate or has some college education. Victims in each group had an average household income between $50,000 and $75,000.

The survey of 600 adult identity theft victims from 11 selected U.S. markets was conducted in December using MarketTool's(R) ZoomPanel, an online consumer panel. The survey targeted 200 African-American victims, 200 Hispanic victims and 200 victims from a random sample representative of the U.S. population in total and across age, ethnic and geographic segments. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.