"In recent years, identity theft has claimed more than 10 million victims per year, and has been the top complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the last five years in a row," said Gail Cunningham, spokeswoman for the NFCC. "ID theft is alive and well, and anyone who doesn't think so is putting themselves at risk of being the next victim."
Of concern are the more than 30 percent of respondents who believe identity theft is declining or think they are immune because they've put one safety tip in place. These people are in definite need of education around identity theft protection, according to NFCC.
Protect Your Identity Week
To help meet that need, the NFCC and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) have joined together to host Protect Your Identity Week (PYIW) October17-23.Nearly 200 events are being held in communities nationwide, including free shredding, educational workshops, credit report reviews, and responsible cell phone recycling. Consumers can locate an event near them by going to this map.
Additionally, the site is a resource for prevention tips, victim recovery tips, and includes the Identity Theft Risk Check quiz where individuals can assess their own personal risk of identity theft.
As part of Protect Your Identity Week, Cintas Corporation, national shredding partner for PYIW, is providing free document destruction at events across the country with the goal of making the Guinness Book of World Records for the most paper shredded in a 24-hour period.
A number of national organizations are putting their weight behind the initiative, including, Consumer Federation of America, American Bankers Association Education Foundation, Federal Trade Commission and National Council of La Raza.
The survey says
The actual survey question and results are as follows:
Q: I don't think I'm at risk of being a victim of identity theft because
A. Identity theft is on the decline = one percent
B. My credit card company has systems in place that protect me = nine percent
C.I don't carry my Social Security card in my wallet = 10 percent
D. I never open emails from unknown sources = 15 percent
E. I do think I am at risk of ID theft = 66 percent
The NFCC's September Financial Literacy Opinion Index was conducted via the homepage of the NFCC Web site from September 1-30, 2010 and answered by 1,352 individuals.
