50 % OF IDENTITY THEFTS REPORTED FROM WORK PLACE
The Federal Trade Commission estimates that more than 50 percent of identity thefts occur through the workplace, or are perpetrated by someone the victim knows.
The FTC reports that the average identity theft victim spends 177 to 300 hours repairing the damage, including a great deal of time during business hours, making identity theft a workplace productivity issue as well as a personal security concern.
Some startling identity theft statistics include:
* More than 30 million employee names and Social Security numbers have been lost by employers or their vendors in the past 12 months.
* As a percentage, the group at highest risk of ID theft earns less than $40k annually.
* If Identities are compromised by an employer, the liability never goes away because it may take years to be discovered and the dollar amount of the liability can often be more than $100,000 when costs and professional fees are considered.
* Employees are worried about identity theft - 83 percent site it as a major concern.
* IT managers have long invested millions in systems that prevent intrusion by hackers rather than systems that simply detect an occurrence of intrusion and theft.
* ID theft has become a $50 billion problem forcing the government to step in trying to propose legislation to "freeze" personal information and credit accounts. The result is disagreement on what should be frozen, how to provide easy access to frozen information and limiting cost.
