A Comparative Analysis of Identity Theft Victimization and Preventive Measures Among Self-Employed,Private Industry,and Government Employees

Abstract

This exploratory study uses data from the 2021 Identity Theft Supplement of the National Crime Victimization Survey to examine whether identity theft risks differ among self-employed individuals, private industry employees, and governmental employees and whether their adoption of preventive measures varies. The analysis shows that employment sector is significantly associated with identity theft risk, revealing distinct victimization patterns across the three groups. Additionally, notable differences were found in the use of protective measures. These findings highlight the importance of considering organizational context when studying identity theft and offer valuable insights for informing future research and practical prevention strategies.

Keywords

identity theft employment sectors preventive measures cybersecurity practices identity theft supplement

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Albrecht

C. C.

Dolan

(2008). Financial statement fraud: Learn from the 414 mistakes of the U.S. or follow in the footsteps of its errors. Corporate Finance Review, 12(1), 5–13.

Albrecht

Tzafrir

(2011). How to protect and minimize consumer risk to identity theft. Journal of Financial Crime, 18(4), 405–414.

Allison

P. D.

(2009). Missing data. The SAGE handbook of Quantitative Methods in Psychology, 23, 72–89.

Allison

S. F.

Schuck

A. M.

Lersch

K. M.

(2005). Exploring the crime of identity theft: Prevalence, clearance rates, and victim/offender characteristics. Journal of Criminal Justice, 33(1), 19–29.

Anderson

K. B.

(2006). Who are the victims of identity theft? The effect of demographics. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 25, 160–171.

Burnes

DeLiema

Langton

(2020). Risk and protective factors of identity theft victimization in the United States. Preventive Medicine Reports, 17, Article 101058.

CIPPIC. (2007). Working Paper No. 2: TECHNIQUES OF IDENTITY THEFT [Internet], Ottawa, Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC). https://archived.cippic.ca/sites/default/files/bulletins/Techniques.pdf

Cohen

L. E.

Felson

(1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review, 44(1), 588–608.

Copes

Vieraitis

L. M.

(2009). Bounded rationality of identity thieves: Using offender-based research to inform policy. Criminology & Public Policy, 8(2), 237–262.

10.

Deloitte. (2024). Cyber Industry Insights: Read the latest. https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/services/consulting-risk/services/deloitte-cyber-industry-insights-read-the-latest.html

11.

Deryol

Boggess

L. N.

Fisher

Ngo

(2024). Exploring the role of cognitive and physical limitations in explaining identity theft victimization. Victims & Offenders. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2024.2352750

12.

Dodel

Mesch

(2018). Inequality in digital skills and the adoption of online safety behaviors. Information, Communication & Society, 21(5), 712–728. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1428652

13.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). Internet crime report 2023. https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2023_IC3Report.pdf.

14.

Federal Trade Commission. (2024). As nationwide fraud losses top $10 Billion in 2023, FTC steps up efforts to protect the public. https://www.ftc.gov/newsevents/news/press-releases/2024/02/nationwide-fraud-losses-top-10-billion-2023-ftc-steps-efforts-protect-public.

15.

Fell

B. D.

(2006). Identity theft and routine activities: A test of victimization using college students. University of Louisville.

16.

Florêncio

Herley

Coskun

(2007). Do strong web passwords accomplish anything? HotSec, 7(6), 1–6.

17.

Golladay

Holtfreter

(2017). The consequences of identity theft victimization: An examination of emotional and physical health outcomes. Victims & Offenders, 12(5), 741–760.

18.

Grawemeyer

Johnson

(2011). Using and managing multiple passwords: A week to a view. Interacting with Computers, 23(3), 256–267.

19.

Greitzer

F. L.

Kangas

L. J.

Noonan

C. F.

Dalton

A. C.

(2010). Identifying at-risk employees: A behavioral model for predicting potential insider threats (No. PNNL-19665). Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL), Richland, WA, USA.

20.

Guedes

Martins

Cardoso

C. S.

(2022). Exploring the determinants of victimization and fear of online identity theft: An empirical study. Security Journal, 1–26.

21.

Harrell

(2021). Victims of identity theft, 2018: Summary. Bureau of Justice Statistics.

22.

Harrell

Thompson

(2023). Victims of identity theft, 2021. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.

23.

Hedayati

(2012). An analysis of identity theft: Motives, related frauds, techniques and prevention. Journal of Law and Conflict Resolution, 4(1), 1–12.

24.

Hoar

S. B.

(2001). Identity theft: The crime of the new millennium. Oregon Law Review, 80, 1423.

25.

Holt

T. J.

Turner

M. G.

(2012). Examining risks and protective factors of online identity theft. Deviant Behavior, 33, 308–323.

26.

Hornetsecurity. (2024a). Egregious Security Practices in the Workplace. https://www.hornetsecurity.com/en/blog/egregious-security-practices-in-the-workplace/

27.

Hornetsecurity. (2024b). Security Awareness Survey: 1 in 4 (25.7%) organizations do not provide I.T. awareness training. https://www.hornetsecurity.com/en/blog/security-awareness-survey-2024/

28.

Lee

J. S.

Lovrich

N. P.

(2023). Do commonly recommended preventive actions deter identity theft victimization? Findings from NCVS identity theft surveys. Journal of Crime and Justice, 46, 172–193.

29.

Zhang

Lovrich

(2021). Forecasting identity theft victims: Analyzing characteristics and preventive actions through machine learning approaches. Victims & Offenders 16 (4): 465–494.

30.

Jansen

Scarfone

(2008). Guidelines on cell phone and PDA security (NIST Special Publication 800-124). National Institute of Standards and Technology. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-124

31.

Kovačević

Putnik

Toskovic

(2020). Factors related to cyber security behavior. IEEE Access, 8, 125140–125148. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3007867

32.

Ledesma

(2023). 4 key industries that need to prioritize cybersecurity. https://www.bitdefender.com/en-gb/blog/businessinsights/the-four-industries-that-need-to-prioritize-cybersecurity-the-most/

33.

Little

R. J. A.

Rubin

D. B.

(2002). Statistical analysis with missing data (2nd ed.). Wiley.

34.

Maher

C. A.

(2024). Examining the association between citizenship and ethnicity on identity theft risk: Findings from the National Crime Victimization Survey. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 49(3), 400–421.

35.

Maher

C. A.

Hayes

B. E.

Powers

R. A.

(2025). Vulnerable identities? Examining the association between disability with risk and consequences of identity theft. Journal of Criminal Justice, 96, Article 102333.

36.

Notoatmodjo

Thomborson

C. D.

(2009, January 1). Passwords and perceptions [Conference session]. Seventh Australasian Conference on Information Security, Wellington, New Zealand (pp. 71–78).

37.

Olmstead

Smith

(2017, March 22). What the public knows about cybersecurity. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2017/03/22/what-the-public-knows-about-cybersecurity

38.

Osentoski

(2016). Examining identity theft victimization using routine activities theory. Michigan State University.

39.

Piquero

N. L.

Piquero

A. R.

Gies

Green

Bobnis

Velasquez

(2022). Preventing identity theft: Perspectives on technological solutions from industry insiders. In The new technology of financial crime (pp. 163–182). Taylor & Francis Group.

40.

Ponemon Institute. (2020). 2020 state of password and authentication security behaviors report. https://www.nass.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/Yubico%20Report%20Ponemon%202020%20State%20of%20Password%20and%20Authentication%20Security%20Behaviors.pdf

41.

Randa

Reyns

B. W.

(2020). The physical and emotional toll of identity theft victimization: A situational and demographic analysis of the National Crime Victimization Survey. Deviant Behavior, 41(10), 1290–1304.

42.

Reyns

B. W.

(2013). Online routines and identity theft victimization: Further expanding routine activity theory beyond direct-contact offenses. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 50(2), 216–238.

43.

Reyns

B. W.

Henson

(2016). The thief with a thousand faces and the victim with none: Identifying determinants for online identity theft victimization with routine activity theory. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 60(10), 1119–1139.

44.

Reyns

B. W.

Fisher

B. S.

Bossler

A. M.

Holt

T. J.

(2019). Opportunity and self-control: Do they predict multiple forms of online victimization? American Journal of Criminal Justice, 44, 63–82.

45.

Romanosky

(2016). Examining the costs and causes of cyber incidents. Journal of Cybersecurity, 2(2), 121–135.

46.

Shackelford

S. J.

(2012). Should your firm invest in cyber risk insurance? Business Horizons, 55(4), 349–356.

47.

Silowash

G. J.

Cappelli

D. M.

Moore

A. P.

Trzeciak

R. F.

Shimeall

Flynn

(2012). Common sense guide to mitigating insider threats. Carnegie Mellon University.

48.

Symantec. (2014). 2014 Internet Security Threat Report. International Telecommunication Union. http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Cybersecurity/Documents/Symantec_annual_internet _threat_report_ITU2014.pdf

49.

Ugwu

Ezema

Ome

Ofusori

Olebera

Ukwandu

(2023, June 20–21). A study on the impact of gender, employment status, and academic discipline on cyber-hygiene: A case study of University of Nigeria, Nsukka [Conference session]. International Conference on Cybersecurity, Situational Awareness and Social Media: Cyber Science 2022, Wales (pp. 389–407). Springer Nature Singapore.

50.

The Unites States Department of Justice. (2010). “Hacker” indicted in massive tax, mail, and wire fraud scheme. Retrieved May 24, 2010, from https://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2010/2010-060(Rigmaiden%20et%20al).pdf

51.

U.S. Department of Justice. (n.d.). Identity theft. https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/identity-theft/identity-theft-and-identity-fraud

52.

USAGov. (n.d.). Identity theft. https://www.usa.gov/identity-theft

53.

Verizon. (2025). 2025 data breach investigations report. https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/

54.

Williams

M. L.

(2016). Guardians upon high: An application of routine activities theory to online identity theft in Europe at the country and individual level. British Journal of Criminology, 56(1), 21–48.

55.

Zwilling

Klien

Lesjak

Wiechetek

Ł.

Cetin

Basim

H. N.

(2022). Cyber security awareness, knowledge and behavior: A comparative study. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 62(1), 82–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2020.1712269