Besides having funds stolen directly from their various accounts, victims of identity theft suffer massive other losses as well.  In fact, other than the thieves (should they get away with it) the losses stretch to many other institutions as well.  No one is safe from identity theft and although few people take any measures to prevent identity theft from happening in the first place, once it does occur, there is nothing on earth that would keep them from preventing it from happening again.  The sheer cost of the theft combined with the cost of repairing the damage done is staggering.  For example, according to a report made by Javelin Strategy and Research in 2008, the amount of existing account fraud topped more than 30 million dollars in the United States alone.  Businesses, often with the needs and rights of their customers in the front of their minds, cover the fraudulent costs to the tune of $221 billion worldwide.  That statistic comes to us from the Aberdeen Group.  So the thief purchases goods and services from the businesses using stolen or fraudulent information and when the victim brings it to the attention of the institution, the business is often the one taking the financial hit.  That can only result in higher prices to cover those costs.  There is no winner unless you count the thief that got away with it, and really, who does?  The ITRC Aftermath Study of 2004 tells us that victims lose between $850 and $1400 straight out of their own pockets when they try to resolve their identity theft.  The average loss to the consumer who falls victim to identity theft is $500.  Almost half of the victims of identity theft have reported problems getting a new loan after their identities are stolen.  70% of victims say that removing the faulty, negative information from their credit reports is extremely difficult.  That information comes to us again from the ITRC Aftermath Study of 2004.

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