www.azcentral.com

Damages from ID theft hitting hard in Phoenix


Max Jarman
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 29, 2005 05:30 PM

Identity thieves in metropolitan Phoenix are particularly nasty. The impostors tend run up higher tabs than their counterparts in other areas and do more collateral damage to their victims' credit.

A study by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. found that the average Valley ID thief ran up $5,063 in charges, or over $1,000 more than the overall average of $3,968.

Phoenix victims also suffered more indirect financial damage than others. The study found that Phoenix residents were hit by an average $3,149 in peripheral costs such as legal fees and lost wages. That was more than five times the overall average of $587.

Joe Case, a spokesman for Nationwide Insurance, said pollsters were unable to say why the costs were so high in Phoenix, but suspected it was because the cases were more involved because of higher fraudulent charges.

The insurance company polled 1,097 adult victims of identity theft, including 131 in Phoenix, to gain insight into the crimes and the financial and emotional impact on the victims. The victims hailed from 10 metropolitan areas.

Not only did the study find that Phoenix victims suffered greater financial damage, it also found they also were likely to be more emotionally traumatized because it took them longer to resolve their cases.

The study found that Phoenix victims spent an average of 177 hours trying to resolve their cases, more than twice the national average of 81 hours. They also were more likely to be completely frustrated by the process.

Thirty three percent of the Phoenix victims reported they had not been able to completely resolve their cases after a year of trying, somewhat more than the overall average of 28 percent.

While most victims were not held accountable for the fraudulent charges, 19 percent of the victims in Phoenix reported having to cover some or all of the related charges, compared with 16 percent overall.

In February metro Phoenix was given the dubious honor of having the highest per capita rate of reported identity theft in the country.

Claudia Bourne Farrell, a spokeswoman for the Federal Trade Commission, said it was unclear why the metro Phoenix rates are so high.

Assistant Arizona Attorney General Todd Lawson attributes the Valley's high incidence of identity theft to illegal immigration, the area's transient population and growing methamphetamine use. Most of the cases he handles are related to identity theft.

On Friday his office warned of another identity-theft scam making the rounds in the Valley.

It works like this: A caller identifies himself as a representative of the Superior Court of Maricopa County Jury Office and tells the person he or she has missed a jury date and must make it up. The caller then asks for personal information.

The Arizona Attorney General's Office warns people to:


• Be skeptical of callers who threaten arrest for missing jury duty.


• Never comply with any request to "verify information" such as a Social Security number.


• Never agree to send the caller any written information for review.