This gorgeous graphic, provided by blog.kgbpeople.com should give you a reason to be worried about identity theft if you weren’t already. If you thought that the advent of services like Lifelock have reduced identity theft in the U.S. over the past several years, I advise you to think again. According to this eye-opening graphic, identity theft has been on the rise since 2003. In 2003, a “mere” 10.1 million people found themselves the victims of identity theft. That number had been steadily decreasing until 2008 rolled around, when it began to balloon again. In 2009, 11.1 million people were the victim of identity theft.

Here’s are some stats sure to rattle your bones a bit. One in ten American consumers is the victim of identity theft, and 1.6 million households have had their bank accounts/and or debit cards stolen. The average taken from each identity theft victim amounts to $4,841. And the out-of-pocket cost to recover this money? $851 to $1,378. Now, here’s a tidbit sure to surprise you. About 50% of people learn their identities are stolen three months after the day of the crime. In horrid cases, 15% of victims didn’t learn that their identities had been compromised for four or more years. Here’s a scary piece of information to chew on: 70% of Americans have trouble removing negative information stemming from the theft of their credit reports.

The following stats also caught me by surprise:
–25.9 million Americans carry identity theft insurance (I thought it was less, and I also now wonder how many of them also pay companies like Lifelock to protect them).
–43% of people who have their identity stolen know the person who stole it. I find that stat rather telling.

Grading Scorecard

Design: A

The top portion of the graphic has a sort of “Andy Warhol thing” going on which I found appealing. A brown, light blue, aqua color scheme permeates through the graphic and gives it a unique, artsy feel.

Content: A-

There is no shortage of facts here, and to be more precise, there is no shortage of disturbing facts. If the purpose of this graphic is to make you worry a little about identity theft, I would say the graphic accomplishes that feat rather well. Overall, a superb graphic. In some ways, this graphic actually serves a public service. The makers deserve high praise for the time and effort spent to create this graphic.