Women more likely to be victims, lose more money and take longer to restore their identity

NORWALK, Conn., May 11, 2009 - Women are hit much harder by identity theft than men, according to a survey on the impact of identity theft conducted by Affinion Security Center, a leading provider of identity theft protection, detection and resolution services. The national survey polled 808 households, half of whom had been victims of identity theft and half of whom had not. The findings coincide with a recent study from Javelin Research, which found that overall women are 26 percent more likely to experience identity theft than men.

The Affinion Security Center survey also offers a new perspective on a deep divide between how women and men are affected by the crime, and how concerned women are about becoming victims as well as how they respond to being defrauded. The study found that women suffer more from identity theft than men, and when victimized, lose more money and take more time to restore their identities. They also change their behavior more dramatically following the theft.

Women Hit Harder When Victimized

This study found that almost twice as many female victims of identity theft surveyed by Affinion experienced unreimbursed losses of $1,000 or more due to identity theft, when compared to male victims of the crime.  Women were also less likely than men to report no unreimbursed losses.  It also took women longer than men to restore their identities.

"While identity theft remains an equal-opportunity crime that affects all types of people, particularly given the indiscriminate nature of data breaches, we were surprised and saddened to learn that the women in our survey reported that they were impacted more than men," Tom Rusin, president of Affinion Security Center. "We are hoping to create an awareness among women so that they can take steps to reduce their risk as well as have an action plan in place should they become victims."

"Identity theft is a horrible experience, and I really wish I had known what signs to look for and had an identity theft protection service in place before someone stole my identity," said Annie Kim, a New York City resident who was targeted by an identity thief in 2006." "It took me more than a year to restore my identity --every financial account I had in my name was affected, and the burden was all on me to fix the problem.  I could have saved a lot of time and aggravation if I had known then what I know now."

 

Women More Concerned about Becoming a Victim than Men

Women are also more concerned about identity theft than men.  Both women who have been victims of ID theft, as well those who have not, described themselves as being "most concerned" about having their identity stolen when compared to other types of theft such as a home burglary or having their car stolen .  Approximately 80 percent of all of the women surveyed said that they were "most concerned" with identity theft, whereas only 71 percent of male victims and 59 percent of non-victim males chose this option.

Women Change Behavior More Dramatically After ID Theft

Not only are women more likely to be victimized, spend more time restoring their identity and lose more money than men, but they are more likely to change their behavior following their experience.  19 percent of women reported shopping online less often after an incident of identity theft, compared to 13 percent of men. 7 percent of women said they refused to shop online at all following the theft, while four times as many women as men who have experienced identity theft keep all of their personal information locked in a safe.

The survey was conducted on behalf of Affinion Security Center by Prince Market Research.

For more information about Affinion Security Center, please visit http://www.affinionsecuritycenter.com. You can also follow the latest Affinion Security Center news on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/asc_info.

Download full release including survey results (pdf)


About Affinion Security Center

Affinion Security Center, a division of Norwalk, Connecticut-based Affinion Group, is a global leader in providing identity protection and data security solutions to corporations and individuals. For over 35 years Affinion Security Center has been powering many of the world’s leading personal data protection and breach resolution solutions offered by local, national and multi-national enterprises in the financial, retail and travel industries. The company currently protects over 7 million subscribers with services including IdentitySecure, PrivacyGuard, PC SafetyPlus and Hotline, and serves enterprise and government agencies with the data breach preparation and response tool, BreachShield. Affinion Security Center is part of the steering committee of the Identity Theft Prevention and Identity Management Standards Panel (IDSP) and is a member of the Staples Security Council. For more information please visit www.affinionsecuritycenter.com.

About Affinion Group
As a global leader with almost 40 years of experience, Affinion Group (www.affinion.com) enhances the value of its partners' customer relationships by developing and marketing loyalty solutions. Leveraging its expertise in customer engagement, product development and targeted marketing, Affinion provides programs in subscription-based lifestyle services, personal protection, insurance and other areas to help generate increased customer loyalty and significant incremental revenue for more than 5,550 marketing partners worldwide, including many of the largest and most respected companies in financial services, retail, travel, and Internet commerce. Based in Stamford, Conn., the company has approximately 4,250 employees and markets in 17 countries globally. Affinion holds the prestigious ISO 27001 certification for the highest information security practices, is PCI compliant and Cybertrust certified.

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