A Certified Financial Fiduciary, Robert M. Ryerson also became a certified identity theft risk management specialist after noting the rising number of identity theft cases and their negative impact on the public. To further spread awareness, Robert M. Ryerson authored What's the Deal With Identity Theft - A Plain English Look at Our Fastest Growing Crime, which is available on Amazon.
The Javelin Strategy & Research Report 2018, Identity Fraud: Fraud Enters a New Era of Complexity, notes that identity theft/fraud victims reached a record high of 16.7 million in 2017, following a previous record high in 2016. Criminals are using sophisticated identity theft strategies that have produced this record number of victims. In 2017, 30 percent of US consumers were exposed to data breaches, a 12 percent increase over 2016 leading to $16.8 billion in total amount stolen.
Furthermore, child identity theft has increased, with more than a million child identity theft victims in 2017. For 2017, the Consumer Sentinel Network reported that while younger people lost money to fraud more often than older people, for people over 70 years of age, the median loss was greater. Regardless of your age, it is important to take the necessary steps to protect yourself from identity theft and fraud.
