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March 2, 2016<\/p>\n
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Contact: NCL Communications, Cindy Hoang,\u00a0cindyh@nclnet.org<\/a>, (202) 207-2832<\/p>\n Washington, DC\u2014New data from the Federal Trade Commission highlights the continuing threat of identity theft to millions of consumers. In its Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book<\/em>, the Commission reported a 47 percent year on year increase in identity theft complaints. As it has been for the preceding 15 years, complaints about identity theft remain among the top scams consumers report to the Commission.<\/p>\n \u201cNearly half a million complaints sends a clear message: more needs to be done to protect consumers from identity fraud,\u201d said National Consumers League Executive Director Sally Greenberg. \u201cOne of the key drivers of the identity theft threat is the continuing flow of consumers\u2019 personal information to fraudsters thanks to the ongoing epidemic of data breaches. The FTC\u2019s new data should be a clanging alarm bell to policymakers in Washington and beyond that an election year is an excuse to take their feet off the gas pedal when it comes to pushing for real data security reform.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Javelin Strategy & Research, nearly 1 in 3 data breach victims will experience identity fraud.\u00a0 As information on tens of millions of consumers affected by data breaches continues to fall in to the hands of cybercriminals, it is likely that millions more consumers will suffer from identity fraud.<\/p>\n Again this year, the Data Book<\/em> identified tax and wage-related identity theft as a top source of identity theft complaints to the FTC. With the recent data breach at the Internal Revenue Service<\/a>, it is very likely this type of fraud will continue to affect consumers this year. While there is no fool-proof way to prevent tax ID theft, NCL has published a step-by-step guide to spotting and recovering from this fraud.<\/p>\n For policymakers, the need for reform should be clear. Ensuring that companies collecting consumers\u2019 data protect it is critical to bringing down rates of identity fraud. However, without leadership from Washington, businesses and other entities that amass vast troves of consumer data will have little incentive to put data security ahead of profits.<\/p>\n