ID Theft Victims Have Trouble Clearing Their Names

A new survey is suggesting that one in four Americans can’t clear their name after falling victim to identity theft, despite spending more than a year to do so.

In an article on ZDnet.com, writer Alorie Gilbert says the survey, by Nationwide Mutual Insurance, found that 28 percent of identity theft victims are unsuccessful at restoring their reputations, despite spending an average of 81 hours working to resolve their cases.

“The survey shows that recovering from identity theft can be difficult, costly and stressful, but what is most alarming is that despite the time, money and personal duress victims go through, resolution is not always achieved,” Kirk Herath, an associate general counsel at Nationwide Mutual, said in a statement.

The survey also found that more than half of all victims discover the fraud themselves after noticing fraudulent credit card charges or withdrawn funds. A mere 17 percent of respondents were notified by a creditor or bank of suspicious activity on their account.

Not only that, but 16 percent of survey respondents said they had to shoulder either some or all of the cost of identity theft themselves, and 40 percent said the police, banks or credit issuers were “difficult to work with” when trying to clear their names.

To read the full article, click here: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5805671.html?tag=zdfd.newsfeed