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"AARP has reported that consumer losses from Phishing are increasing but money recovered is going down. In 2004 there were $137 million in losses, $257 average per victim, with money recovered at 80%. In 2006, the losses were $2.8 billion, an average per victim loss of $1,244 and the money recovered only 54%. Another study reported by the Gartner Group shows that, on average, the amount of money lost to fraud rose from US $1,408 in 2005 to US $3,257 in 2006. The percentage of funds recovered dropped over the same one-year period from 85 percent in 2005 to just 61 percent in 2006."
Clearly victims are losing more money, but they are recovering less of it. Why? It would seem that the "other" victim of the fraud is also fighting back. The "other" victim? The creditor, the bank, the credit card company, the commercial enterprise the thief scammed in the first place. If the victim doesn't have to pay, they have to take the loss. Their goods are gone and they have nothing in return to show for it. As well as the original perpetrator, another kind of thief is attempting to defraud them. The thief pretending to be a victim. The buyer who actually ran up the bills, got the goods, and now claims they were completely innocent, victimized, a victim of an identity thief. Unless creditors are totally covered by fraud insurance, they are watching their profits disappear down the drain. I imagine they are very, very angry. Which leads me to two ways I believe victims of ID theft and fraud can make their recovery easier and more productive. 1) At the outset, creditors have no way of knowing if you are truly a victim or out to scam them. You have to help them make that determination. How? Proof. Make your proof substantial, enough to convince the creditor that you are the victim of someone else's fraud and that, if they took their case against you to court, they would lose. Carefully listen when the creditor tells you what documentation they had in order to open the account, because those things are what you will have to counteract and refute. 2) When you approach them, understand that they prefer not to become the "other" victim. Clearly, you are not to blame for this and, certainly, this is an emotional issue for you and, surely, they can afford it better than you can. All true, but that's not the point. The point is that they're probably already angry and you need their help and cooperation. You cannot afford to anger them further. If they choose to, they can throw rocks in your path every step of the way. So approach them in an unemotional, business-like manner. Do call them and ask for their help. Ask them what it is that they need from you. Talk to them. Don't bury them in form letters and correspondence, throw demands at them, or legalese. Don't expect them to write confirmation letters; do that yourself. In short, do everything you can to take the burden off of them. Make it easy for them to be helpful to you. Why is this crime growing so fast? Who are these ID thieves? If you have become the victim of an ID thief, we suggest you consider the "CASE MANAGEMENT WORKBOOK for victims of ID theft and fraud" now, before you do anything else. The WORKBOOK will put YOU in charge and make your financial and emotional recovery from this crime much easier. It will lead you through the process, everything you need to do from checking your credit reports through closing accounts, dealing with creditors, and locating losses you may still be unaware of. And, you won't overlook any of those things that may become very, very important later on. Read more about it at WORKBOOK or click below. ![[workbook]](img/cmw-pic-indx.jpg) Self-help for victims of ID theft and fraud |