DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37699.v1
title: Recover Me if You Can: Assessing Services to Victims of Identity Theft, United States, 2017-2019
title: Version 1

description: This multi-phase study was conducted to discover and learn more about the services offered to victims of identity theft and to evaluate the effect of these services on those who experienced this crime. The first phase of this study focused on the effects of identity theft services on its direct victims. This was accomplished by combining available data from the Identity Theft Supplement (ITS) with survey data associated with the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). The second phase of this study was conducted as multiple focus groups where qualitative data was collected to help in understanding more about identity crime victimization. The participants that attended these focus groups were organizations and individuals who provided insight on the type of interactions within these identity crime services. The third phase of this study was to examine the level of efficiency of the ITRC victim call center by performing interviews with the victims. Demographic variables include gender, race, age, ethnicity, education, marital status, and income.
description: This multiphase project was designed to understand the effect and quality of services provided to victims of serious identity crime in the United States, to improve understanding of victim experiences, and to identify the best ways of supporting victims who experience the ramifications of identity-based crime, as there has been relatively little investigation into the strategies to repair the harm caused by these crimes.
description: Phase 1 integrated existing data from the Identity Theft Supplement (ITS) administered as part of the Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), with exclusive survey data collected in collaboration with the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), to assess the impact of victim services on a variety of outcomes. The objective of this phase was to assess the impact of identity crime services. Phase 2 involved focus groups with professionals working in identity crime victim services such as, fraud examiners, victim service professionals, and private investigators. The purpose of these focus groups was to understand the interaction between victims and organizations. A few questions asked during this phase were, "How do experts in the field of identity theft define the victims of identity theft?" and "How can the services for victims of identity theft be improved or expanded?" Phase 3 was designed to understand the service delivery of the ITRC victim call center for those who used ITRC services. There were three questions that were asked during this phase: "How do victims of serious identity-based crime describe their victimization experience?", "Do victims of serious identity-based crime who receive victim support services from a non-profit view those services as helpful or useful?", and "What areas of need remain for victims of serious identity-based crimes who have used some victim services?"
description: Response Rates: Survey data were collected for 18 months from January 2017 through June 2018. The final number of respondents totaled 287 (out of roughly 3,500 possible subjects) for a response rate of 8.2%. The survey response rate was similar to the annual response rate of the previous Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) Surveys. The focus group recruitment process produced a total of 50 participants, across seven focus groups, with 45 people being involved in focus groups and 5 electing one-on-one interviews. Interview subjects were recruited from a list of 70 potential interviewees. Of these 70 potential interviewees, 8 contained out-of-date information, 22 did not respond, 15 declined to participate, and 8 agreed to participate but failed to appear for the scheduled interview. Of the 17 completed interviews, 7 were female and 10 were male.
description: The survey sample was derived from the universe of all persons who requested assistance from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) regarding a serious identity crime incident from January 2017 through May 2018. The data collected from this sample was used in Phase 1 to assess the impact of victim services on a variety of outcomes. In coordination with the ITRC, an initial list was made of 10 professional meetings that had a direct or indirect focus on identity-based crimes. Of the 10 organizations that were contacted, 2 agreed to participate: the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the National Center for Victims of Crime. Focus groups were conducted with a convenience sample of professionals who attended these meetings. This sample was primarily associated with Phase 2 of the study design. Interview subjects were recruited from a purposive sample of 70 potential interviewees provided by the ITRC to the research team. The sample included clients who were willing to be contacted for follow-up research.
description: Datasets: DS1: Recover Me if You Can: Assessing Services to Victims of Identity Theft, United States, 2017-2019
description: United States residents age 16 or older who reported that they had been victims of serious identity theft during the prior 12 months. Smallest Geographic Unit: State
description: record abstracts; face-to-face interview; telephone interview; web-based surveyThis collection excludes the qualitative interviews from this release. However, this collection will be enhanced to include qualitative data in the future.This collection includes data from the Identity Theft Supplement to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 2014 [ICPSR 36142]. Please reference this collection for additional information.