Decisions, Decisions: An Analysis of Identity Theft Victims’ Reporting to Police, Financial Institutions, and Credit Bureaus

Abstract

ABSTRACT Identity theft, the theft and misuse of another person’s identifying information, impacts approximately one-in-ten American adults annually. Despite its prevalence, low police reporting rates by victims means that the dark figure of identity theft remains substantial, with official statistics representing few cases. Instead, many identity theft victims report to credit card companies and banks, and some report to credit bureaus or other private institutions. Drawing on the 2016 National Crime Victimization Survey – Identity Theft Supplement, this paper investigates identity theft victims’ decisions to report to law enforcement, financial institutions, and credit bureaus. It finds that along with situational factors, measures of seriousness impact reporting to these institutions and most strongly predict reporting to law enforcement. Moreover, this paper tests for interaction effects between paying out of pocket for losses and the other measures of seriousness and finds that victims who pay out of pocket have distinct reporting patterns compared to those who are reimbursed. This paper thus contributes by improving our understanding of the nature of victimizations that come to the attention of identity theft’s various responding institutions.