From Bureau of Justice Statistics: 17.6 million people (about 7% of the population).

Here’s a bar chart showing differences between 2012-2014:

As Consumer Affairs noted in their summary of the data there was good news and bad news:

The report also contains some good news and bad news. The good news is 85% of people surveyed took action in 2014 to prevent identity theft, such as checking credit reports, shredding documents with personal information, and changing passwords on financial accounts.

The bad news? The number of identity theft victims who were 65 or older increased to 2.6 million in 2014, up from 2.1 million in 2012. Seniors are especially vulnerable to scams, and the report suggests the need for family members to help older relatives keep their financial information safe.

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Check out one of the most popular NGPF activities: Building a Scam Guidebook

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.