ID Theft: Meeting The Problem Head-On
What’s really scary about identity fraud is the final chapter, when victims – not their banks or credit card companies – discover the crime, usually almost six months afterward, with no real advocate to help them argue their innocence and get their money back.
Sometimes, that last chapter has no ending. More than 1 of every 4 victims of identity fraud are unable to resolve their cases after a year of trying, according to a survey by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. Even more alarming: 16 percent of victims wind up paying an average of $6,440.
“That shocked me,” says Kirk Herath, chief privacy officer for Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide. “I was not aware people would be liable for that much.”
The reason they would be in such a hole is because a criminal had used their debit card. Unlike credit card fraud, in which individuals are usually off the hook for anything over $50, liability for losses stemming from a stolen debit card can be anywhere from $1,000 to the total amount, regardless of how much.
Account holders are also responsible for all cash transfers, whether they made them or not. As for the unresolved cases, Herath says they usually drag on because of a lack of evidence; credit card companies are suspicious of their own customers acting dishonestly.
“It’s very hard to prove you didn’t do it,” he says.
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