The number of identity-theft cases fell last year, but criminals are getting savvier about how to win their victims’ confidence, with more of them relying on newer tools like artificial intelligence. And credit cards and other financial products remain a top target.
That’s the mixed message from the Identity Theft Resource Center, which on Wednesday released its “good news, bad news” annual report for 2023. The topline result in the good-news category is that the number of victims of identity misuse, attempted misuse, and ID compromise dropped 16% last year, to 10,904, according to the report. Likewise, the number of instances of ID crime reported in these cases dropped 11% to 13,197, the ITRC’s findings indicate. These results track with numbers from the Federal Trade Commission, whose results indicate a 6.3% drop in reports of ID theft last year, following an even more robust plunge of 23% in 2022.