"Identity Scams Soar to Make 2021 a Record Year"

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), Google Voice scams led the way in what was a record year for identity-related fraud in 2021.  The ITRC said it received 14,947 reports from consumers during the year, a 26% increase from 2020 and the most it has ever had to deal with.  Half of these were scam victims, meaning they shared personally identifiable information (PII) with their attacker.   More than half (53%) of this group comprised Google Voice scams, making it the most prevalent fraud type of the year.  Elsewhere, the ITRC recorded an 8% increase in “identity misuse” incidents, totaling 4168.  Two-fifths (40%) of these were related to financial account misuse, with most of this group linked to new account fraud (64%) and the remainder to account takeover (36%).  The ITRC noted that over half (55%) of identity misuse cases were recorded as attempts to open, access, or take over government accounts or apply for benefits.  ITRC also recorded massive rises in non-financial account takeover (235%) and social media account takeover (1044%).

Infosecurity reports: "Identity Scams Soar to Make 2021 a Record Year"