Comptroller: Identity Theft Complaints Nearly Doubled Last Year

A pair of handcuffs and credit cards over a black background, Identity Theft, credit card, debit card — MGN Online Image.

ALBANY – Identity theft complains nearly doubled over the past year in New York State, according to a new report by the state’s Comptroller.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office says the sharp increase is likely connected to the uptick in people filing for unemployment insurance and more online shopping.

His report found 67,000 complaints were filed statewide last year, an 85 percent rise from 2019 and four times the total annual amount from a decade ago.

The report also says that credit card fraud was the most common type of theft reported to regulators at the Federal Trade Commission, with nearly 25,000 people in New York reporting misused information.

More than 3,600 identity theft reports related to the pandemic and COVID-19 were reported as well. In total, two-thirds of those complaints were related to unemployment benefits or other government programs.

He says it is not clear what sort of impact this will have on economic losses, however in 2018 the nation as a whole had $15.1 billion in identity theft losses.