Most identity theft discovered by individuals through their financial activity Despite a proliferation of laws in recent years requiring companies to alert customers about data breaches, most individuals find out that they are victims of ID theft on their own, according to newly-published data from the Federal Trade Commission.MORE ON CIO.COM Tips for Preventing ID Theft Where ID Theft Occurs Among, 5,000 adults surveyed, 3.7 percent said their identities had been stolen. Among these victims, 66 percent found out by taking matters into their own hands. For instance, 26 percent found out by monitoring their own accounts. Another 18 percent said they learned when they received a bill. Other respondents said they were alerted through credit monitoring services, reviewing credit reports or applying for credit, a job and/or benefits. Only 15 percent listed notification by a company as a means of finding out their identities had been stolen (11 found out some other, unspecified way). A subset of the respondents were asked if they ever been notified about a data breach by the business involved, whether they were an ID-theft victim or not. Among 1,500 people who were asked the question, less than 10 percent said a company had ever told them about a data breach. The survey was conducted by Synovate, a market research company, in 2006. A California law requiring companies to notify customers of any data breaches was enacted in 2003, and since then, 30 other states have passed data breach notification laws. Related content BrandPost Stay in Control of Your Data with a Secure and Compliant Sovereign Cloud By Stan Kwong Mar 23, 2023 6 mins Cloud Security Cloud Computing News Accenture to lay off 19,000 to cut costs amid economic uncertainty Technology services giant Accenture will continue to hire but meanwhile is cutting staff to streamline operations in the face of economic headwinds. By Anirban Ghoshal Mar 23, 2023 2 mins IT Consulting Services Technology Industry BrandPost Advice from procurement: How to evaluate and propose new IT investments By clearly defining needs and requirements, evaluating TCO, and performing risk assessments, procurement and IT teams can work together to help their business leaders make more informed decisions for an improved bottom line. By Bo Bradshaw, Edgio Procurement Director Mar 23, 2023 5 mins SaaS BrandPost Why AI is key to hiring and retaining developers Data shows that the opportunity to build AI-powered apps figures very prominently in where developers decide to work. By Bryan Kirschner, Vice President, Strategy at DataStax Mar 23, 2023 4 mins Artificial Intelligence IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe