Identity fraud statistics roundup 2026: What the data reveals

Identity fraud is one of the fastest-growing crimes of the digital age, and AI is making it cheaper and easier to pull off. To show what that looks like in numbers, we've gathered the most recent statistics from our own research and other trusted sources in one place. Together they map how fast fraud is growing, who it hits hardest, and what it costs the businesses caught in the middle.

Growth of identity fraud

Identity fraud has increased by over 1,200% in 13 years

There were only 86,250 reported cases of identity fraud back in 2001. By 2024, that number rocketed to more than 1.1 million, an increase of over 1,200%. But what's behind this surge? Well, the world has become a lot more digital since the early 2000s, and fraudsters have gotten more sophisticated. In short: identity fraud is one of the fastest-growing cybercrime threats today. Source: Coveron

Identity fraud impacted 56% of organizations in the last year

In a recent report, Lumin discovered that 56% of organizations reported at least one instance of identity fraud in the past 12 months, while 36% reported more than one. However, some sectors were more affected than others. Seventy-six percent of financial services organizations reported at least one identity fraud incident, the highest among all industries. Legal services had the lowest rate of incidents, only 19% reported identity fraud. Source: Lumin

Identity theft accounted for nearly $200 million in reported losses in 2025

Identity theft caused $185.8 million in losses in 2025, according to complaints made to the FBI. Fraudsters often steal personal information, use it to access bank accounts and open credit cards, and make purchases in someone else's name. More money was reportedly lost to identity theft last year than to extortion. Source: FBI

Identity theft losses increased by 42% during the pandemic

Losses from identity theft cases in the U.S. grew from $502.5 billion in 2019 to $712.4 billion in 2020. This increase was due to a rise in unemployment benefit-related identity theft during the COVID-19 pandemic. Source: Pandemic Response Accountability Committee

Identity theft is one of the most reported crimes to the FBI

There were 31,675 complaints to the FBI about identity theft in 2025, more than data breaches, ransomware, or romance scams. Phishing and spoofing was the most complained-about type of internet crime overall, with 191,561 reports to the agency during this period. Source: FBI

AI identity fraud and other technology trends

The majority of identity fraud cases involve AI

Eighty-five percent of identity fraud incidents are linked to generative AI, according to data analytics company LexisNexis. AI is used in identity fraud in various ways. For example, criminals can create fake identification documents that seem authentic enough to pass verification checks. This technology can also make identity fraud harder to detect. Source: LexisNexis

Deepfakes are becoming more common in biometric fraud

Biometric fraud is a type of identity fraud that uses someone's voice, fingerprints, and other biometrics to pretend to be them. According to recent research from IT company Entrust, one-fifth of all biometric fraud now involves deepfakes, proving that AI-generated content is frequently being used to infiltrate security systems. Source: Entrust

The vast majority of organizations think agreement workflows are vulnerable to AI fraud

In recent years, AI fraud has become a huge deal, with deepfakes and synthetic identities being used to bypass identity checks for signing legal agreements. Data from Lumin shows that 94% of organizations believe their agreement workflows are at least somewhat vulnerable to AI fraud, while only 5% feel fully secure. Source: Lumin

Injection attacks are being used more frequently to commit identity fraud

Injection attacks have increased 40% year on year. This relatively new type of crime involves fraudsters inserting malicious code into apps and databases to gain access to personal information. This allows them to bypass security systems and steal identities. Source: Entrust

Types of identity fraud

Credit card fraud is the most common type of identity theft

Credit cards were involved in the most identity fraud cases in 2024, accounting for more than 449,032 incidents. Fraudsters often use stolen data to open new credit cards or access existing ones. Identity fraud can also involve bank accounts, loans, leases, and government benefits. Source: Coveron

Account takeover fraud is becoming more common

Account takeover fraud, a type of identity fraud, has seen an 18% increase in victims in just one year, rising from 5.1 million in 2024 to 6 million in 2025. It involves gaining access to someone's bank account with stolen passwords and other personal information. Criminals can then transfer money and start making unauthorized purchases, leaving the real user unable to get into their account. Source: Javelin

Social media users are being targeted by identity thieves

There were 20,270 reports to the FTC about identity theft linked to social media in 2025. Social media platforms have become a common entry point for fraudsters looking to steal personal data, which typically happens through phishing and impersonating family and friends. Younger adults may be more susceptible to this because of how often they share their information online. Source: FTC

Demographics and locations most at risk of identity fraud

Young adults are most at risk of identity fraud

Those aged 20-39 complained the most about identity fraud in 2024, with 30-to-39-year-olds reporting 291,807 incidents. This age range is often targeted because they spend more time online and frequently use social media and internet banking, two places where fraudsters can exploit personal data. Source: Coveron

10% of seniors are victims of identity theft

One in ten seniors has experienced some form of identity theft, with financial losses for this group totaling $3.1 billion in 2022 alone. Older adults are often targeted by fraudsters because they tend to have more savings and access to retirement funds. They may also be less familiar with phishing and other online scams than younger generations. There was an 81% increase in elder fraud losses from 2021 to 2022. Source: Identity theft stats from CBI, IC3, and FBI, data compiled by SeniorLiving.org

Children can be victims of identity fraud, too

In the year leading up to July 2022, 915,000 children in the U.S. were victims of identity fraud. Parents can prevent this by monitoring their children's personal information and limiting how it's shared on social media. Source: Javelin

Military service members and their families are increasingly targeted by identity thieves

U.S. military service members and their families reported 42,134 instances of identity theft in 2025, the highest number since 2022. The most common type of identity theft among this group involved credit cards, which accounted for more cases than bank accounts, phones and utility accounts, and government documents and benefits combined. Source: FTC

Florida is the US state with the highest number of identity fraud reports

Florida reports more identity fraud than any state in the U.S., with a total of 115,840 complaints made to the FTC in 2024. Georgia, Nevada, and Texas are the next most affected states, while South Dakota reports the fewest cases (only 845 complaints). Source: FTC

Impact of identity fraud on consumers

Consumers are spending more of their time fixing identity fraud

One of the most interesting identity fraud statistics is that consumers spent, on average, 10.4 hours resolving issues from these incidents in 2025, up from 9.5 hours in 2023. Tasks can include contacting banks, freezing credit reports, and filing police reports. Source: Javelin

Most shoppers choose online businesses based on security

Seventy-seven percent of consumers say the most important factor when choosing who to shop with online is feeling confident that their personal data is safe. Customers often avoid businesses if they think their information is at risk. Source: TransUnion

Impact of identity fraud on businesses

Identity fraud costs organizations more than $3 million a year

Organizations lose, on average, $3.4 million to identity fraud annually. This number jumps to an average of $4.4 million for enterprises. These costs go well beyond the money actually stolen by fraudsters. After an incident, businesses may also face higher insurance costs, fines for breaking data protection laws, and damage to customer relationships. Source: Lumin

Organizational collaboration makes it easier to identify identity fraud

Collaboration in organizations boosts identity fraud detection rates by 43%. This may involve sharing data about potential threats between teams and using shared security tools. Organizations can also respond to identity fraud more quickly by working together across different departments. Source: LexisNexis

See the data behind the threat

Lumin's Digital identity in business: The threats, impact, and opportunities report surveyed 1,000 business decision-makers on how identity fraud is hitting organizations, what it costs, and where agreement workflows are most exposed.