Is Identity Theft Growing or Not?

The Justice Department put out a report yesterday saying that about 3% of Americans have been victims of identity theft in the recent past, a figure that is about a third of what another government study had said in the past. In February, Javelin Research did a survey that put the number at about 4 percent.

The Javelin study found that about half of identity theft victims actually knew the person who stole their info -- so the identity theft bogeyman might just as easily be your next-door neighbor who stops by for a cup of sugar (I know, no one does that anymore, but I couldn't think of another example very quickly) as a conniving meth addict hiding in the bushes trying to read your ATM PIN.

Of course 3% is a lot of people in actual numbers, so I'm not trying to underplay it, but is it really a problem that's getting worse? Or do certain media (especially local TV news programs in my experience) like to play it up as another one of their shocking revelations with reports titled "Hands Off My Pocketbook!" or "The Thief You Can't See"?

I've had credit cards stolen when I was a little careless, but the credit card companies make so much money off of their system that they're more than willing to let me lose my card every so often with absolutely no liability. It's a hassle digging up your account numbers and getting things reissued, but life's a hassle in general, so you take the good with the bad, at least IMO.

I guess your take on this might depend on whether you've been a victim of identity theft or not. Or how bad the identity theft was.

How about you? Have you been a victim? Was it a big deal or no?