Identity Theft Awareness Week: identity theft’s hidden impact

If you’ve never dealt with identity theft, it can feel like a distant threat—something that happens to “other people.” But for victims, identity theft can mean months of damage control, financial losses, wrecked credit, and the exhausting process of proving you’re you.

And the fallout doesn’t always stop at someone’s bank account. Identity theft can also trigger serious emotional distress, and it often follows consumers into the workplace, leading to reduced productivity, missed time, and strained relationships with coworkers and managers.

Identity Theft Awareness Week is a timely reminder that identity theft is no longer rare—it’s routine. And the people most affected may be your employees or customers.

How identity theft impacts consumers

Identity theft can hit fast, and the consequences can linger for months (or longer). Here are a few of the most common ways it disrupts consumers’ lives:

A financial hit can derail long-term goals

The financial damage from an identity theft incident can be devastating. For some consumers, the losses from identity theft are minimal, with 28 percent of consumers reporting losing $500 or less. However, many others lose far more, with 29 percent of Identity Theft Resource Center victims reporting losing at least $10,000.

To put that into perspective: the average savings account holds about $22,000. That means a single identity theft incident can wipe out half of someone’s savings—money meant for a child’s college fund, an emergency reserve, rent, a mortgage payment, or retirement. And these stolen funds are just the beginning, as many identity theft victims are also forced to cover out-of-pocket costs associated with identity theft, such as legal fees, lost wages, and more.

But the financial impact isn’t just limited to stolen funds or costs associated with the recovery process. Stolen funds and the costs of recovering from identity theft can leave a victim without the money they need to meet their financial obligations, including loan or credit card payments. In fact, 30 percent of general consumers reported that they were unable to pay bills following an identity theft incident.

Identity fraud can also cause significant damage to a person’s credit score due to fraudulent loans, with 32 percent of ITRC victims reporting that they were turned down for loans and credit such as mortgages, student loans, and other services.

The emotional toll of identity theft

Identity theft is more than a financial crime; it’s a deeply personal one. Not only do victims have to deal with potential financial losses, but they’re also trying to recover their sense of security.

Many ITRC victims report a variety of emotional effects, including feeling stressed (67 percent) or depressed (52 percent), suffering anxiety attacks (38 percent), feeling violated (76 percent), experiencing sleep problems (59 percent), and more.

And for working adults, those emotions don’t exist in a vacuum. Consumers still have to show up for their kids, their households, and their jobs, all while trying to untangle fraud, call financial institutions, dispute charges, and rebuild their identity—a heavy load for anyone to carry.

The hidden workplace fallout

With the emotional and financial stress that identity theft victims experience, it’s no wonder why their careers are also impacted. When someone is dealing with identity theft, it doesn’t stay neatly “after hours.”

Worrying about the financial losses, dealing with the lengthy process of recovery, and keeping their emotions in check can cause significant distractions and disruptions. 20 percent of ITRC victims reported losing interest in work, 31 percent reported losing time at work, and 31 percent reported a strained relationship with their boss.

Tips to protect consumers from identity theft

Protecting consumers from identity theft can feel overwhelming, especially when threats are constantly evolving.

But there are meaningful steps organizations can take to protect consumers. And the best approach is usually a layered one: education, tools, and access to protection.

Make awareness and education part of your organization’s culture

One of the most effective things organizations can do is offer consumers practical guidance on how identity theft happens and what to do when something looks off. Key education topics should include:

• What is identity theft and how to recognize it: Teach consumers what identity theft is, the many forms it can take, and how to recognize it.

• Phishing: Phishing is still one of the most common ways criminals steal sensitive information. Training should cover how to spot phishing attempts across text, email, phone calls, and even social platforms.

• Scams: Even scams that seem “only” about money can also be designed to steal personally identifying information, like Social Security numbers, banking details, login credentials, and more. Keeping consumers informed about emerging scam tactics helps protect both their finances and identities.

• Data management: The more personal data circulating online, the more opportunity criminals have to exploit it. Consumer education should include best practices such as using strong passwords, avoiding unverified apps, limiting unnecessary data sharing, and understanding the risks of an oversized digital footprint.

Equip consumers with device protection

Today’s identity theft threats are often fueled by cyber threats, including phishing links, malicious downloads, and malware that steals sensitive information directly from personal devices. Organizations can reduce risk by making personal device protection easy to access, whether through partnerships with cybersecurity vendors or by offering protection as an employee benefit or as part of their financial services offering.

When device protection is simple to obtain and easy to use, consumers are more likely to adopt it and safer behavior becomes the default.

Help consumers shrink their digital footprints

Education helps, but tools can make the biggest difference, because they reduce the burden on consumers to protect themselves alone. Useful tools include:

• Dark web monitoring: Monitoring the dark web for exposed credentials can help consumers take action early, before stolen information turns into full identity theft.

• Data removal tools: Data brokers and people-search sites often list personal details like addresses, phone numbers, and relatives—the same info scammers use to build convincing attacks. Giving consumers access to data removal tools can help reduce risk by shrinking their digital footprint and limiting what criminals can easily find and weaponize.

With these strategies, organizations can take real steps toward helping protect consumers from identity theft and supporting their wellbeing in the process. This Identity Theft Awareness Week, consider how your organization can turn awareness into action by making protection easier to access, not just easier to understand.

And while these efforts may sound complex, there’s a simple way to make support more consistent: offering identity protection as part of your employee benefit program or financial services. To learn more about how Allstate Identity Protection can help organizations protect consumers from identity theft and support wellbeing, contact us today.