The real cost of ID theft:
Bottom Line: Another year another record. Not good when we're talking about ID theft. That's exactly what 2016 brought us on the ID theft front. According to Javelin Strategy & Research...
15.4 million Americans were victims
16% year over year increase
Fraudulent use of a lines of credit and "account takeover" were the fastest growing forms of theft
Total costs to victims were $16 billion
This once again serves as a reminder that ID theft protection is a good idea. When you factor in how much you spend on insurance products during the course of the year, at just about $100 per year per person, ID theft protection is an extremely cheap way to have protection. Now some detractors, that I believe are irresponsibly off-base, will suggest you don't need ID theft protection because it can't prevent ID theft – which is true. The real value is in knowing instantaneously when someone is attempting something in your name and with your ID – including you. Immediately knowing is something that can allow you to stop it immediately before you have massive problems on your hands. There have been two attempts on me over the years (one during the morning show a year or so ago). Because of the immediate notification I was able to stop both of them before any harm had been done. And yes, if unfortunately you are compromised, a good ID theft company will provide the resources to take care of the problem(s).