$52 billion lost to identity thieves in 2021

Javelin Strategy & Research has published annual studies on identity fraud since 2003.

The number of victims in recent times has tended to fluctuate between 10 and 15 million people. In its latest survey, Javelin found that the comparable number for 2021 was 15 million people, with losses increasing by 79% over the prior year to $24 billion.

These numbers are for what Javelin calls “traditional identity fraud” in which victims often have no idea how their information was compromised. Crooks may have defeated fraud prevention technologies at companies or employed malware and other “crimeware” to steal people’s information. Data breaches would be an example.

Javelin has also started capturing information on “identity fraud scams” in which consumers are tricked into providing personal information through phone calls, email, text messages or some other means of contact. The survey found that 27 million people lost $28 billion in identity fraud scams. And in their case, they often recall exactly when they were deceived into providing their information.