Report Indicates Illegal Immigration Contributes to ID Theft
Identity theft is commonly viewed as a national problem, and sometimes it can be difficult to gain perspective on some of the numbers that are reported. Picturing the estimated 9 to 10 million victims per year makes it seem like a crime of the masses and not one that affects individuals. But earlier this week, Identity Theft 911® released a comprehensive report on the ever growing problem of identity theft, and they broke the massive crime into more easily digestible reports on specific states. Not surprisingly, three Border States rounded out the top of the list of most affected areas. Arizona, California and Texas are three of the states hardest hit by identity theft. Although the three states bore some similarities, each of them had several areas in which certain aspects of the crime were more widespread in their regions than the national average indicates. Keep reading below to see how your home state (or choice vacation destination) measures up and how you can protect yourself.
Arizona: Worst State for Identity Theft for Fifth Year in a Row
According to the report, no other state even comes close to Arizona when it comes to their rate of identity theft per capita. Out of the seven worst cities for identity theft in the nation, seven of them are in Arizona. Experts believe the high rate of identity theft in Arizona is due in part to two key factors: illegal immigration and methamphetamine use. In one third of all identity theft cases in Arizona, victim’s identities are used to obtain employment fraudulently—that’s twice the national average. Another unique distinguisher for Arizona is that 19% of their victims are children, which is four times the national average.
Here’s a breakdown of Arizona’s results for 2007:
•293,500 victims of identity theft
•1.2 million hours spent by victims trying to recover and repair their identities
•$147 million dollars accrued in out of pocket expenses related to repairing identities
California: Gold Rush State is Gold Mine for Identity Theft
If you picture the Rose Bowl Stadium packed to its fullest capacity—and then multiply that by fifteen—that’s how many victims of identity theft resided in California in 2007. Just as in Arizona, fraudulently obtained employment was higher than the national average. But it was credit card fraud (on both existing and new accounts) that distinguished California with 23% of the state’s identity thefts falling into that category. Of the 50 hardest hit metropolitan cities in the nation, sixteen of them are in California.
Here’s a breakdown of California’s results for 2007:
•1.5 million victims of identity theft
•6 million hours (or 250,000 days) spent by victims trying to repair their identities
• $749 million dollars accrued in out of pocket expenses related to repairing identities
Texas: Big State with Even Bigger Problems
In the six years between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2007 20% of the population of Texas (64% of households) was affected by some form of identity theft. Employment fraudulently obtained by illegal immigrants was the number one cause of identity theft in the state. And theft isn’t distributed evenly throughout the state. Identity theft in South Texas alone was twice the national average in 2007.
Here’s a breakdown of Texas’ results for 2007:
•880,400 victims of identity theft
•3.5 million hours spent by victims trying to repair their identities
•$435.7 million accrued in out of pocket expenses related to repairing identities
What Do These Numbers Really Tell Us?
Judging by these three states, one of the things this report tells us is that illegal immigration is a huge contributing factor to identity theft. When workers immigrate to the United States illegally, they aren’t allowed to work in the United States. Some of them go and obtain employment where they are paid under the table in cash, but others who might be willing to work honestly employ dishonest means so that they can work. Without a social security number they cannot get legitimate employment in the United States, so in some cases illegal immigrants steal a social security number and use them to gain employment. Since the Social Security Offices don’t verify whether a name matches a social security number, it is difficult for employers to know whether or not they are employing someone using a stolen social security number.
However, when it comes time to pay taxes, thieves generally get caught. Usually, the illegal immigrant will not file taxes, but you will. His or her employer will also file taxes and will report paying a specific amount of money to someone with your social security number. And several months after you file your taxes you will receive a notice from the IRS stating that you have unreported income and therefore you owe them an additional amount. Or, they will withhold your refund because of your unreported income. In many cases, if someone is using your social security number to fraudulently obtain employment, he or she is probably also using it to open credit or utilities in your name as well. So checking your credit report might tip you off to the crime. But, in the event that a thief is exclusively using your social security number to fraudulently obtain employment, you won’t find out about it until it’s too late…unless you purchase identity theft protection product. For example ID Secure monitors your social security number, in addition to credit and ATM card numbers, to help detect any fraudulent uses of your social security number so you don’t find yourself hassled or defrauded by an identity thief.
*Facts taken from a report released by Identity Theft 911 on August 12, 2008.
Comments
This makes me very angry.
America must take control of its immigration system, and kick out all illegal aliens out of this country. They are causing substantial problems for our country. Obama must fix the broken system, because to many immigrants that come here legally on visa's overstay. I cannot understand why the us embassys abroad, cannot do a better job at weeding out people before they give them visa's. It seems that these embassys abroad only want money, but the cost of giving a foreignor a visa, and then having that immigrant come to america and overstay a visa, is much more expensive and detrimental to this country, and at the cost of U.S citizens and Green card holders who then have their social security and ID numbers stolen, and then sold on the black market. Two countries that are a big problem are Mexico and the Philippines. I do not want to sound racist, but many filipino's come to america on visa's and overstay, and then circumvet the immigration laws here in America. This is wrong, but why does the US embassy in Manila give out so many visa's. Many Filipino's that come to America, on tourist visa's overstay. This is a fact, and I know first hand. They then try to marry a u.s citizen, trick the US citizen, play games with their heads, and pretends to fall in love with this lonely, vulnerable american citizen, and somehow finds out the american husband or boyfriends ss number and then the illegal alien bride or girlfriend, will sell their ss numbers or personal information to their other illegal alien friends, to help them get jobs etc. usually to retaliate against the american boyfriend/husband for not going to immigration to help them with their papers. Ridiculous, and makes me very angry. In major cities here in the US many illegal immigrants (who are mostly overstays), can hide, and because of our left wing liberal city governments, people are scared to put controls on these illegals, because of the fear of being labeled a racist. RACIST. These people are taking advantage of our country. They are abusing the rules, and abusing you and me. People must come here the right way, and go thru the proper process in getting a green card, and citizenship. Amnesty might be the thing to do unfortunately. We as a country have to make all illegal immigrants that are already in this country legal. Keeping these people under the radar makes them more dangerous to our society. The truly good illegal immigrants will come forward and apply for amnesty. But their is a segment that will not come forward and apply for amnesty, because, I will tell you why. They came to this country under the circumstance of fraud. Their are people called "fixers" in some third world countries, Philippines included that will help people come to a america, under a false name for a hefty fee. When that person enters customs, the immigration officers do not know their real names, but the fake name instead. The govt. here really does not know who that person is. This practice has been stopped in the last 5 years as of 2009, but many of these types of illegal immigrants are already here in America, because of the lax pre and post 9/11 immigration system. These types of immigrants will not appy for amnesty, because the us customs office has a record of their fake name. These fixed illegal immigrants have no record of entry in this country under their real names. Does this make sense? So a segment of the illegal immigration population in America, is really dangerous and desperate in my opinion. Their must be immediate better controls, and national ID ACT, the REAL ID ACT must be instituted quickly. Strict rules must take effect very quickly to pretect legal citizens of this country. A way to deal with the illegal population that is already here must be dealt with quickly and effectively.
It looks like some of you have really good questions. Thanks for your participation in the forums.
Kristy: If someone is using your social security number for employment only purposes, it is nearly impossible to detect unless the IRS contacts you for having unreported income. But if someone has stolen your SSN and then opens credit in your name it will appear on your credit report, so make sure you check your report regularly. Also, the ID Secure product we offer monitors SSNs for illegal or fraudulent use. So you might want to look into purchasing that if you are really concerned about SSN theft.
Shawn: It sounds like the guys working for you might be in the country illegally. Although paying them in cash might indicate they haven't stolen anyone's SSN yet, you're in a tough spot, and really I don't think there is an easy answer. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
Shannon, Content Manager
I hired some guys to mow my lawn and stuff, and they ask me to pay them in cash. So hopefully that means I'm not unintentionally contributing to identity theft. Do you think what I'm doing is ok or should I stop using these guys?
I live in Tucson, and there was a story on the news this morning about some illegal immigrants who stole social security numbers to get jobs at the local Panda Express. One of them was using the social of a dead guy! This is really scary. How can I know if my social security number has been compromised?
The best way to stop this is by crippling the companies who are hiring these illegals. Illegal immigration will stop once these people will realize that they will have no jobs here.
And, to add to illegal immigrants, there was a big story in yesterday's LA Times and on the radio last night about gangs in LA getting into Identity Theft. It isn't that difficult to get started stealing personal information...and people can be so naiive as to give out their personal data over the phone or online. I have never subscribed to an identity theft service...but it seems that it's about time to consider it.