The Covid-19 pandemic hit Americans’ finances hard—and criminals took advantage of that vulnerability.
An alarming number of Americans say they experienced identity theft, or attempted identity theft, during the pandemic. A new survey by Forbes Advisor found that since 2020, four in 10 Americans (39%) reported that someone tried to open, or successfully opened, a bank account, credit card or loan in their name.
Identity theft, which refers to someone stealing your personal information typically for their financial gain, can have devastating consequences—including stolen funds and a lengthy process to recover control of your finances.
Pandemic Made Consumers Targets for Digital Identity Fraud
Identity theft isn’t new. But studies show that as the pandemic’s restrictions forced us to be more online for everything from work to grocery shopping, it also exposed our poor online security habits.
Since the start of the pandemic, more than a third (35%) of survey respondents stated someone used or attempted to use their credit cards, debit cards or bank account.
When the thieves did successfully access the accounts, the consequences were severe: close to one-fourth of Americans reported having over $3,000 stolen from them. In some cases, the amount stolen exceeded $5,000.
“The amount of identity fraud during the pandemic was absolutely massive,” says Naftali Harris, CEO of identity verification company SentiLink. “It was an increase that I…
