Identity theft resources

I, and hopefully many or all of you, received a little pamphlet from the Federal Trade Commission about identity theft. I almost disregarded it, because I thought I knew all the steps to take. After skimming the pamphlet I realized I could've missed a few steps. Hence, I recommend folks check out the FTC's Deter-Detect-Defend program.

I also found some interesting facts about the cost of identity theft to victims. You can view the whole 2006 report HERE.

• In more than 50 percent of ID thefts, victims incurred no out-of-pocket expenses. (Out-of-pocket expenses include any lost wages, legal fees, any payment of fraudulent debts, and miscellaneous expenses such as notarization, copying, and postage.) 5 In the New Accounts & Other Frauds category, the median value of out-of-pocket expenses was $40.
• However, some victims do incur substantial out-of-pocket expenses. Ten percent of all victims reported out-of-pocket expenses of $1,200 or more. For the New Accounts & Other Frauds category, the top 10 percent of the victims incurred expenses of at least $3,000, and the top 5 percent incurred expenses of at least $5,000. One-quarter of victims in the New Accounts & Other Frauds category reported paying out-of-pocket expenses of at least $1,000.
• Victims of all types of ID theft spent hours of their time resolving the various problems that result from ID theft. The median value for the number of hours spent resolving problems by all victims was 4. However, 10 percent of all victims spent at least 55 hours resolving their problems. The top 5 percent of victims spent at least 130 hours.