Survey Shows Identity Theft Is Common For Americans - Olmec Skip to main content

Survey Shows Identity Theft Is Common For Americans

By April 2, 2019May 19th, 2022Technology News

How big of a problem do you imagine identity theft to be?  What percentage of Americans do you think have been impacted by it? If you’re like most people, whatever number you selected probably underestimated its impact.  In a recent survey conducted by nCipher, it was discovered that nearly 29 percent (17.6 percent) of respondents admitted that their identities had been stolen.

As a percentage, that may not seem like all that much, although it’s certainly disturbing.  When you consider that the United States is home to some 330 million people, taking 17.6 percent of that yields the depressingly large number of 58,080,000.

Compare that figure to the 2017 estimate of 16.7 million instances of identity theft, and the rampant growth of this type of crime suddenly comes into striking and dismaying focus. If that wasn’t bad enough, a further 16.5 percent of survey respondents said that they had no idea whether they’d had their identity stolen or not.

It’s certainly not fair to conclude that all of the people in this group have had their identities stolen and simply aren’t aware of it.  The simple fact that such a large group of people seem to have little to no awareness of their digital footprint and who might have access to it is beyond disturbing.

The two biggest takeaways from the survey are these:

One: Identity theft is a rapidly growing crime that impacts tens of millions of Americans and it’s growing more common by the day.

Two: A shocking percentage of people have almost no awareness about how secure their digital footprint is, which means they have no real understanding of how to protect themselves from identity theft.

Given the rapid growth in this type of crime, it’s fair to say that sooner or later, most of the people in the second statistic will wind up as part of the first.  Make sure you’re not in either group!

Jason Manteiga

Jason J. Manteiga, Vice President of Olmec Systems, has been part of the company for over the past 20 years. He believes that having a great work environment and supportive team, is the ultimate key to success. Since being in the IT realm for over 25 years, Jason, along with Olmec Systems, has been on the Inc. 5000 “List of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies” and Channel Futures MSP 501 “Top Managed Service Providers in North America,” along with other awards and nominations. Jason earned his Bachelor Degree in Information Systems from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He also holds certifications in Microsoft MCSE, VMWare VCP, and Cisco CCNA. In his spare time, Jason is a contributor for The Center for Social & Legal Research (Privacy Exchange) and a member of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce. His hobbies include cycling and kayaking. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife, two daughters and son.