Can you hire a private investigator for identity theft?

Can you hire a private investigator for identity theft?

Absolutely, you can! And read on to see how they can help.

Identity theft is a growing problem. The website Identity Force lists these statistics:

1. In 2019, 14.4 million consumers became victims of identity fraud — that’s about 1 in 15 people
2. Overall, 33 percent of U.S. adults have experienced identity theft, which is more than twice the global average
3. More than one in four older adults, aged 55 and over, have experienced identity theft
4. One in five victims of identity theft have experienced it more than once
5. Over 1 million children in the U.S. were victims of identity theft in 2017, costing families $540 million in out-of-pocket expenses
6. There’s a new victim of identity theft every 2 seconds
7. Children are 51 times more likely to be a victim of identity theft than adults
8. Identity theft is the most common consequence of a data breach, occurring 65% of the time
9. There were 164 million exposed records in 2019, and data breaches increased by 17%
10. Consumers lost more than $1.9 billion to identity theft and fraud in 2019
11. Emotional distress is reported by 77.3 percent of identity theft victims

In other words, if your chances of winning the lottery were 1 in 15, as are the odds of being an ID theft victim, we’d all have family, friends, and colleagues who are millionaires.

Identity theft has become easier with the release of new technologies. Smartphones are particularly vulnerable as users tend to store all their private information on their phone. Users have bank account apps, investment account information, copies of their driver’s license, copies of their insurance card, social media applications and possibly even crypto currency wallets stored on their phones. If an identity thief gets access to this information that’s all they need to steal someone’s identity.

When your identity is stolen you usually don’t find out until after the fact and the damage is done. It can take years to repair your credit, and you may even have collection agencies chasing you for years for money you don’t even owe.

The owner of this private investigation agency in Atlanta recently had his identity stolen. The identity thief had somehow obtained his Social Security Number and date of birth. The thief then used this identity to sign up for databases that give access to consumer’s social security numbers and dates of birth. The thief also set up a private investigation agency (an illegal one) using the stolen name and information.

Then, the real owner used OSINT research and went to work to locate the thief. The process is still ongoing but rest assured the thief will be found and will be prosecuted, as well as sued in civil court for the grief they have caused. Stay tuned to this blog for more information as the case progresses.

If you are looking for an affordable licensed private investigator, with 20 years of experience assisting individuals, attorneys and corporations feel free to contact us here. You can also view a portion of our extensive client list here, and see what actual clients say about us here.