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The US Federal Trade Commission received 1.4 million reports of identity theft last year, double the number from 2019
The number of reported cases of identity theft in the United States doubled in 2020 year-on-year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has said. In a blogpost marking the start of Identity Theft Awareness Week, the FTC said that it received approximately 1.4 million reports of identity theft last year. The surge in cases is mainly driven by cybercriminals targeting people who have been financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“2020’s biggest surge in identity theft reports to the FTC related to the nationwide dip in employment. After the government expanded unemployment benefits to people left jobless by the pandemic, cybercriminals filed unemployment claims using other people’s personal information,” said Seena Gressin, an attorney at the agency’s Division of Consumer & Business Education.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a
press release announcing it is holding an Identity Theft Awareness Week between February 1-5, 2021. The week will be comprised of a series of events providing consumers with helpful information to reduce their risk of identity theft and discussing concrete steps consumers can take to recover if identity theft occurs.
Per the FTC’s press release, the event will “highlight what you can do to protect your personal information, red-flag warning signs of possible identity theft, and steps to take if identity theft happens to you.” The specific programs include:
Monday, February 1, at 1 p.m. ET -Webinar: Ripple Effects of COVID-19 Related Identity Theft & Tips to Protect Yourself in 2021