11 August, 2005 - 3:49pm

A recent survey from one of the largest insurance companies in the US, Nationwide Mutual, found that one-third of those surveyed blamed their compromised IDs on the Internet, where they think their information was exposed to hackers.

Whereas, 21% said the information was stolen from their home, car, mailbox, garbage or a wallet or purse. The report notes that the average ID theft case has $4,000 charged to the victim's cards. And that it usually takes over three days to resolve their case once the ID theft is discovered. Alarmingly, the study found that 28% of the respondants have not been able to restore their identities, even one year after the crime.

Earlier this year we wrote a couple pieces on how the Sxip Network can help combat the ID theft problem. See: Gone Phishing, Digital Identity: Unified Systems and Open Protocols, and Credentials, Not Business Cards.