Here's How Many Americans Have Been Victimized by Identity Theft
By:
Martha C. White
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Jeff Harris for Money
As more of our lives and our finances move into the digital sphere, the risk Americans face from determined cybercriminals is on the rise. Data breaches at stores, hotels, and email providers give crooks troves of personal information to sift through, and they're taking advantage of that to commit identity theft in a major way.
A new survey from Bankrate.com found that 41 million Americans have been victims of identity theft, and nearly 50 million said they know someone who has been a victim. That adds up to about two in five who have either had a first- or secondhand experience with identity theft.
