New ID Theft Research And Blog For Debix
Adam and I have discussed Debix several times in the past, so it will come as no surprise, that I am again posting about them.
Debix now has a blog, which will be covering issues around identity theft, breaches and privacy.
Debix also released a new research study examining child identity theft. The most recent blog post, contains some highlights from the study, including that one in twenty people (or one in every classroom) suffers from some sort of compromise to their identity before they reach their maturity with an average of over $12K in fraudulent debt assigned to their names.
As the post says:
Kids are a great target for identity theft, because the younger you target them, the longer you have before it is likely that the act will be discovered and as a result the corresponding amount of fraud that is committed prior to discover is significantly higher with minors than with adults.
Check out the post and the full research study for much more detailed information.
[Image is identity-theft-2 from j_lovefool on flickr]
FUD alert!
Please correct your post: 1 in 20 minors ENROLLED IN DEBIX had a credit history when they should not have, not “one in every classroom”.
This is due to self-selection: minors with attacks on their identiy are likely to be _enrolled in Debix_ credit-monitoring service. Minors without such attacks are unlikely to enroll unless they are at risk due to fame or known identity compromise – which usually pays for a year of a credit monitoring service like Debix. It’s kind of like saying most people with car insurance own cars.
This study only examined 500 records. Is that because Debix has less than 1,000 minors enrolled? Compared to the number of minors in the country, the error rate of this study is orders of magnatude more than the purported findings.
Dan,
I haven’t seen the study, but how would most minors know? Maybe most minors get in via their parents signing up for a family plan.
Dan,
I haven’t seen the study, but how would most minors know? Maybe most minors get in via their parents signing up for a family plan.
“This is due to self-selection”
Parents are signing up for Debix and few if any would have known their children were victims of identity theft. I think this study is great, maybe not fully accurate but still valuable.
Debix, has also received good reviews and is far cheaper then the competition. Compare them with the link in my signature.