[1] Stolen identifying information might also be used for other reasons, such as to obtain identification cards or for purposes of employment by somebody not legally authorized to work in the United States.
[4] It was estimated that approximately one third of Americans affected by a data breach ended up becoming a victim of financial fraud in 2013, an increase from one ninth in 2010.
[9] A public-private initiative by the IRS and employers in 2016 resulted in a 50% drop in incidents of taxpayer identity theft reports.
[11] In 2022, the IRS indicted a man for identity theft and other crimes related to 76 fake charities registered to the same mailing address.
[18] The Identity Theft Resource Center said there were 662 data breaches in the United States in 2010, almost a 33% increase from the previous year.
[18] On May 5, 2011, Michaels, a craft store chain, sent an email alert to its customers revealing that its debit card terminals in 20 states had been compromised.
The scammers used skimming devices to swipe consumer credit card information at retail or food establishments.
According to the Federal Trade Commission losses from identity theft in the United States cost about $1.52 billion in 2011.
[24] On February 15, 2013, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D, FL-23) introduced the Stopping Tax Offenders and Prosecuting Identity Theft Act of 2013 (H.R.