INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — A new report reveals a shift in how cybercriminals are stealing your personal information.
The Identity Theft Resource, a national nonprofit, released its Trends in Identity Report Tuesday, which reveals a fundamental change in the identity crime landscape.
The report shows identity crimes have evolved from isolated incidents into "multi-layered" crises, with 26% of victims now managing two or more concurrent incidents, up from 24% the previous year.
“Identity crimes are no longer isolated, single events,” said Mona Terry, Chief Operating & Programs Officer for the Identity Theft Resource Center. “They are becoming increasingly complex. It is not just about the number of crimes, but also the pattern they follow. A single compromise can trigger a chain reaction that spreads across multiple accounts and institutions, making it much harder for people to recover.”
The ITRC analyzed the experiences of more than 6,000 people.
For the first time, unauthorized device access has surpassed scams as the primary threat for adults aged 35–64.
Other key findings include:
- Unauthorized access to computers and mobile devices increased by 78% year-over-year from 15% of all identity compromises to 27% of all compromises. Over the same period, scams involving the sharing of personal information declined from 43.1% to 36.1% of compromises.
- Fraudulent employment is now the most common crime against minors, accounting for 40% of misuse cases for children and dependents.
Scams require active participation, but unauthorized access means you did not give permission—for example, you were hacked, and someone downloaded malware onto your device.
“We're seeing those come back because AI makes them so easy,” said James Lee, president at the Identity Theft Resource Center. “They can find vulnerabilities in software, they can find a way to exploit that vulnerability and creating different kinds of malware, and it's very, very easy for them to do.”
The bad guys don’t need any skills, said Lee.
“If you can write a prompt, you could write malware, so this is all a reflection of these trends we've been seeing building since the launch of ChatGPT three years ago,” said Lee. “We're now beginning to see some of our worst fears come true.”
WRTV Investigates has told you about traffic enforcement scams and bank account scams.
The report found account-problems scams are the highest-volume scam type; 74% of victims shared high-value personally identifiable information (PII), the highest rate of any scam category.
“Account scams are so effective because we have bank accounts, we have accounts with the government, our local government, our state government, our federal government,” said Lee.
Job and employment scams were the second most common and the most intensive in terms of information harvested.
Only nine percent of those with any financial impact were able to resolve their cases, according to the ITRC report.
“The more money you lose and the more sophisticated the attack, the less likely you're going to find a resolution to whatever has happened to you,” said Lee.
ITRC’s 8 Steps to Protect Your Identity
- Monitor Your Credit Reports — Regularly check your credit reports and freeze your credit to catch and prevent unauthorized account activity.
- Secure Your Digital Accounts — Strengthen your online security with unique passwords, passkeys and multi-factor authentication with an authenticator app.
- Protect Personal Documents — Shred sensitive paperwork, securely store important documents, and handle publicly visible personal info with care.
- Stay Safe Online and On the Phone — Avoid phishing scams, never share personal info unsolicited, and keep devices updated with security software.
- Be Wary of Social Engineering — Limit what you share on social media and use strong privacy settings to prevent identity-targeted scams.
- Verify Before You Buy or Dispose — Ensure websites and payment devices are secure and erase personal data from electronics before discarding.
- Monitor Medical and Insurance Records — Regularly review medical statements and records to detect and report suspicious or inaccurate activity.
- Act Immediately if You Suspect Theft — Report suspected identity theft quickly to banks, police and credit bureaus, and seek support from ITRC advisors.
