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Nearly A Fifth Of Americans Suffer Data Breach -- Many Risk ID Theft

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A report from Pew Research Center found that 18% of online U.S. adults  have had have had "important personal information stolen" such as their Social Security Number, credit card, or bank account information. That's a 63% increase over of the results of a July 2013 survey where 11% reported the theft of personal information.

Pew also found that 21% of online adults said they had an "email or social networking account compromised or taken over without their permission." That's the same as  July 2013.

Last year's survey found that 7% of adults under 30 had important information stolen compared to 15% this year.  The number has also gone up for those between 30 and 49 (20% this year compared to 15% last year). Twenty percent of Americans between 50 and 64 also reported information theft compared to only 11% in 2013. Seniors (65+) are less likely to have lost information.

Identity theft

Data breaches -- especially when your social security number is disclosed -- can lead to identity theft. At last week's ID360 conference, Suzanne Barber, director of the University of Texas' Center for Identity said in an interview, "The one thing I say to hold onto if you possibly can is your social security  number." She added that "there is always discussion about how valuable it is. It really is."  If a company, a doctor or almost anyone else asks folr that information to verify your identity, "in a nice way say 'why do you need it.'"  There are other ways to prove who you are. Of course there are exceptions such as when opening bank accounts, when you are hired by an employer (but not necessarily as a job candidate) and when dealing with the IRS.

Barber also said that children are much more likely than adults to have their ID stolen. That may sound counter-intuitive because kids don't have as much money but they do have clean credit rating and, said Barber, "You don't monitor your child's social security number and credit information as  you do  your own," so you'll less likely to find out if your child's information has been stolen until they apply for credit which is typically in their late teens or early twenties.

Podcast

Click below to listen to the entire interview with Suzanne Barber.

Click to listen