Time Is Money in Identity Theft

I realize this is our third post on identity theft this week, and I blame the volume of excellent material that other bloggers and writers are producing. Today, I’d like to talk about the side of identity theft that I feel is often ignored: the time that it costs victims. Simply put, regaining one’s identity takes a lot of time.

The actual dollar costs of recovering from identity theft are not huge. According to the New York Times, “[s]eventy-three percent of victims incur no out-of-pocket expenses whatsoever; the unlucky minority loses, on average, $2,000.” That means that a reasonable person should expect the cost of setting his identity straight again to amount to $500, which would not drastically change most adults’ lifestyles. Potentially more disruptive to a victim’s life is how long it takes for a person to put his or her life back together after identity theft, though. According to the Federal Trade Commission  (FTC), “[o]n average, victims of the ‘New Accounts and Other Frauds’ form of ID Theft [as classified by the FTC] spent 60 hours resolving their problems.” This cost is rarely accounted for when considering the cost of identity theft, but it is a major one. Indeed, U.S. District Judge Paul G. Cassell issued an opinion recently that explained that for some, “time is ‘the most precious thing’” the victim has, and loses, in an identity theft. Unfortunately, the courts are powerless to force identity thieves to compensate victims for the time lost to recovering their identities. I know that I do not have 60 free hours in my schedule to put my life back together if someone temporarily ruins my credit.

The huge loss of time associated with recovering from identity theft is one of the best arguments for prevention. Credit card companies and courts can put your checking account back in order. No one, though, can restore the time you lose to an identity thief. You can, however, take steps to prevent identity theft and save yourself 60 troublesome, stressful hours by integrating prevention into your daily life.

Hat tip to the blog Sentence Law and Policy.

Comments

[Fred333]

I had a friend that had some identity theft issues. It is a horribel process to get thing back to normal.