Fewer Identity Theft Reports, Larger Losses: Here's What to Make of Latest Research
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The Identity Theft Resource Center said Tuesday that fewer people contacted it for help over the past year, but also warned that new technologies, including artificial intelligence, are making it increasingly easier for cybercriminals to successfully victimize people. The ITRC mentions that, while fewer people are reporting crimes, the crimes that are reported represent greater financial loss.
According to the ITRC's 2025 Trends In Identity Report, a total of 7,580 individuals contacted the nonprofit group with an identity-related concern during the year that ended March 31, 2025, marking a 31% decline from the same period a year ago.
That drop followed another decrease the previous year. Additionally, the ITRC said the trend has continued into this year, but it remains unclear as to exactly why.
The ITRC said it's possible that criminals are using tech like AI to better target victims, so they don't need to attack as many people. It also theorized that the decrease could be due to "victim fatigue" stemming from the seemingly never-ending string of data breaches and cyberattacks.
On the more positive side, the ITRC said the decrease could also be the result of more people taking steps to protect their identities and more companies using better tech to protect their systems from attacks.
Of those that contacted the ITRC for help during the past year, 52% reported that their personal information had been misused, meaning that their personal data was stolen and used to do things like open or take over accounts, or to get a job. And 35% said that their personal information was compromised, meaning that it was exposed in a data breach or scam, but had not yet been misused.
The group said those numbers mark a switch from previous years, when more people reported that that information had been compromised and fewer said it had been misused.
In terms of scams, impersonation scams, where criminals posed as businesses, banks and other legitimate organizations, were the most reported. They more than doubled from the year before and accounted for 34% of total scams reported.
More details about the financial consequences of these scams will be available when the ITRC publishes its impact report in October.
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