Fraud and Identity Theft

Statistics from law enforcement and other government agencies are limited to frauds that they uncover or that are reported to them, thought to be a small fraction of the total. Persons who know they were victims of fraud are often unwilling to report the crime to a police department, government agency, or survey. Identity theft often occurs together with fraud. A criminal may use someone else’s health insurance account to obtain medical care. The owner of the health insurance account is a victim of identity theft. New types of fraud and identity theft are continually being created, which complicates attempts to categorize them. The online supplement lists more than 20 US federal agencies that investigate and collect statistics about fraud and identity theft. One limitation of surveys is particularly pertinent for estimating the amount of fraud and identity theft. Statistics from surveys depend on how accurately the respondents report their fraud and identity theft experiences.