![18 Million Identity Theft Victims in 2025 [US Data]](/_astro/how-many-people-have-been-victims-of-identity-theft.CJ1VgiIy_Z24Y6CM.webp)
18 million Americans were victims of identity fraud in 2025, losing a combined $27.3 billion, according to Javelin Strategy & Research's 2026 Identity Fraud Study, published April 21, 2026 from a survey of more than 115,000 consumers. That sits alongside two other counts worth knowing: the FTC logged 1,135,270 identity theft complaints the year before, and the US Department of Justice's own household survey found 23.9 million people had been victimized in its most recent count. How large the number looks depends entirely on which agency is measuring and what counts as a "victim," so this page lines up every major count side by side with its named source.
How many people were identity theft victims in 2025?
Javelin Strategy & Research, an industry research firm that has run an annual identity fraud study since 2003, put the 2025 figure at 18 million identity fraud victims, based on a survey of more than 115,000 US consumers conducted for its 23rd annual edition, "The Illusion of Progress," published April 21, 2026. Combined losses across identity fraud and separately tracked scams came to $38 billion, with identity fraud alone accounting for $27.3 billion, essentially flat against 2024's $27.2 billion.
Figure 1: Total identity fraud victims and its two largest named subcategories in 2025. Source: Javelin Strategy & Research, 2026 Identity Fraud Study, published April 21, 2026.
Account takeover, where someone hijacks an existing account rather than opening a new one, hit 6 million victims in 2025, up 18% from 5.1 million in 2024, with losses topping $15 billion even as the category's growth slowed slightly. New account fraud grew faster: 5.4 million victims, up 31% from 4.1 million in 2024, and $7 billion in losses, up 13% year over year. Javelin's own framing for the study is a warning rather than reassurance: losses look stable mainly because criminals are shifting toward stealing information for future fraud rather than cashing out immediately, so the flat dollar total understates the underlying risk.
How does identity theft differ from identity fraud?
The two terms get used almost interchangeably in headlines, but the agencies behind the numbers on this page draw a real line between them. Identity theft is the broad legal term the FTC and Department of Justice use for any unauthorized use of someone's personal information. Identity fraud is Javelin's narrower industry term for the subset of cases where that stolen information was actually used to move money, most visibly through new-account fraud and account takeover.
Figure 2: Identity theft is the umbrella term; identity fraud describes the subset where stolen data was actually used. Source: Javelin Strategy & Research (2026) and US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (2023).
That distinction matters for reading any single headline number correctly. A person whose Social Security number was exposed in a breach but never used shows up as an identity theft statistic in some counts and stays invisible in others, which is one reason the government's own household survey, discussed further down, arrives at a larger figure than any single agency's complaint count.
How many identity theft complaints does the FTC receive each year?
The FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network, the federal government's central complaint database, logged 1,135,270 identity theft reports in 2024, up 9.5% from 1,036,845 in 2023, according to its Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book. That is a distinct, separately tracked category from the FTC's broader fraud complaints, which totaled 2,626,600 in 2024 with a median reported loss of $499.
Figure 3: Identity theft complaints filed with the FTC rose nearly 10% in a single year. Source: FTC, Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, 2023 and 2024 editions.
FTC complaint counts measure reports, not distinct people, and undercount anyone who never files with the FTC directly, which is most victims. They are still the most current annual snapshot of what a consumer actually experienced closely enough to file a report.
What does the government's own household survey find?
The FTC's complaint data undercounts victims because most people never file a report. The Department of Justice addresses that gap with its Identity Theft Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, a nationally representative household survey rather than a complaint log. Its most recent edition, "Victims of Identity Theft, 2021," published October 12, 2023, found that 23.9 million people age 16 or older, 9% of that population, had been identity theft victims in the 12 months before being surveyed.
| Source | What it measures | Result | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Javelin Strategy & Research | Consumer survey, 115,000+ respondents | 18 million identity fraud victims, $27.3B lost | 2025 |
| US DOJ, Bureau of Justice Statistics | Household survey, NCVS Identity Theft Supplement | 23.9 million victims, 9% of population, $16.4B lost | 2021 |
| FTC Consumer Sentinel Network | Consumer complaints filed | 1,135,270 identity theft reports | 2024 |
| Insurance Information Institute (citing FTC) | Consumer complaints filed | Roughly 1.02 million reports, 19% of 5.39M total | 2023 |
Of the 2021 victims, 59% experienced a direct monetary loss, totaling $16.4 billion collectively that year, and 76% of victims said their most recent incident involved misuse of just one existing account, such as a credit card or bank account, rather than a new account opened in their name. That last figure is a reminder that most identity theft, measured this way, looks less like a stranger opening new credit lines and more like a familiar account getting drained or charged without permission.
Which type of identity theft is most common?
Credit card fraud is the single largest category the FTC tracks. It accounted for 449,076 of the 1,135,270 identity theft reports filed in 2024, 39.6% of the total, ahead of other identity theft types at 359,008 reports and loan or lease fraud at 176,409 reports.
Figure 4: Credit card fraud alone accounted for roughly two in five identity theft reports filed with the FTC in 2024. Source: FTC, Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024. "All other types" is the remainder after the three named categories, spanning government documents, tax, and employment-related identity theft.
Contact method mattered for how much a report cost the victim rather than for which category it fell into: reports where the criminal made first contact by email carried a $600 median loss across 371,664 cases, while phone-based contact carried a far higher $1,500 median loss across 284,651 cases, according to the same FTC data book.
Which states see the most identity theft?
Georgia, Florida, and Nevada led the FTC's per-capita identity theft rankings in 2023, the most recent year with a full published state breakdown, at 457, 438, and 404 reports per 100,000 residents respectively, according to the Insurance Information Institute's analysis of FTC Consumer Sentinel data.
Figure 5: The three highest-rate states for identity theft reports in the FTC's 2023 Consumer Sentinel data. Source: Insurance Information Institute, citing FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2023.
Florida's own rate kept climbing the following year: the FTC's 2024 data book put Florida at 528 reports per 100,000 residents, 115,842 total, up from 438 the year before, enough to move it past Georgia's 2023 rate even without a newer full-state ranking to compare it against directly.
How does this compare to broader data privacy concern?
Identity theft sits inside a much larger pattern of consumer worry about personal data. 71% of US adults say they are concerned about how their information is used, and separate survey work on how many users adjust their privacy settings shows that concern does not always translate into action, which is part of why exposed data keeps turning into fraud years after the original breach.
The Bottom Line
Three named organizations measure identity theft three different ways, and none of them is wrong. Javelin's 18 million identity fraud victims in 2025 is the freshest and most financially specific count, tied to $27.3 billion in actual losses. The Department of Justice's 23.9 million figure, drawn from a household survey rather than complaints, is the broadest population-level estimate available, even though its most recent edition covers 2021. The FTC's 1,135,270 complaints measure something narrower still: people who took the extra step of filing a report. For a site owner, the practical takeaway is the same regardless of which number leads a headline: personal data that a business collects and does not adequately protect or disclose is a direct input into all three counts, which is exactly what a current, accurate privacy policy generator is meant to keep honest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people are victims of identity theft each year? 18 million Americans were identity fraud victims in 2025, according to Javelin Strategy & Research's 2026 Identity Fraud Study, published April 21, 2026 from a survey of more than 115,000 consumers. Measured a different way, the US Department of Justice's household survey found 23.9 million people age 16 or older, 9% of that population, had been identity theft victims in its most recent count, covering 2021.
What is the difference between identity theft and identity fraud? Identity theft is the broader legal term for someone stealing or misusing another person's personal information, used by the FTC and the Department of Justice. Identity fraud is the narrower industry term Javelin Strategy & Research uses for cases where stolen information was actually used to move money or open an account, such as the 5.4 million new-account fraud victims and 6 million account-takeover victims it counted in 2025.
How much money do identity theft victims lose? US identity fraud losses totaled $27.3 billion in 2025, according to Javelin Strategy & Research, including $7 billion from new-account fraud alone. The government's household survey found 59% of identity theft victims experienced direct monetary loss in 2021, totaling $16.4 billion collectively that year, per the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Which type of identity theft is most common? Credit card fraud is the single largest category. It accounted for 449,076 of the 1,135,270 identity theft reports the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network logged in 2024, 39.6% of the total, ahead of other identity theft types (359,008 reports) and loan or lease fraud (176,409 reports).
Where the Numbers Come From
- Javelin Strategy & Research. (2026). "2026 Identity Fraud Study: The Illusion of Progress." 23rd annual edition, survey of more than 115,000 consumers, published April 21, 2026. 18 million identity fraud victims, $27.3 billion in losses, 5.4 million new-account fraud victims, 6 million account-takeover victims.
- US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2023). "Victims of Identity Theft, 2021." National Crime Victimization Survey, Identity Theft Supplement, published October 12, 2023. 23.9 million victims age 16 or older, 9% of that population, $16.4 billion in collective losses, 59% of victims reporting monetary loss.
- Federal Trade Commission. (2025). "Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024." 1,135,270 identity theft reports, 449,076 credit card fraud reports, 2,626,600 total fraud complaints, $499 median fraud loss.
- Federal Trade Commission. (2024). "Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2023." 1,036,845 identity theft reports, 5.39 million total Consumer Sentinel reports.
- Insurance Information Institute. "Facts + Statistics: Identity theft and cybercrime." Analysis of FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2023, including state-level identity theft rates per 100,000 residents.
Note: All figures verified as of July 2026. Javelin Strategy & Research and the FTC publish updated figures annually; the Department of Justice's household survey updates on a multi-year cycle, so its 23.9 million figure remains the most recent available even though it covers 2021.
