COLUMBUS, Ohio (07/27/05) --
Victims of identity theft spend an average of 81 hours
trying to resolve their case, while many victims have been
unable to restore their legal identities, even after a
year of trying, according to a new survey released by
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.
"The survey shows that recovering from identity theft can
be difficult, costly and stressful,
but what is most alarming is that despite the time, money
and personal duress victims go through, resolution is not
always achieved," said Kirk Herath, associate general
counsel for Nationwide.
The survey of 1,097 identity theft victims found the
average amount of charges using their name was $3,968.
While most victims were not held responsible for the
fraudulent charges, 16% of victims said they had to pay
for some or all of the thieves' purchases. More than
half of all victims discovered the identity theft
themselves, while only 17% were notified by a creditor or
financial institution of suspicious activity on their
account. It took those surveyed an average of
five-and-a-half months after the crime occurred to realize
they were a victim.
.
.