By Nathalie Voit

Scams and fraud related to identity misuse have reached unprecedented levels over the last two decades in the U.S, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) said in a new report.

In its 2021 Trends in Identity Report, the organization dedicated to helping victims of identity misuse saw a 235% increase in reports of non-financial identity crime from 2020 to 2021. The agency also recorded a seven percent increase in government scams and government identity misuse over the year.

“When we look back on 2021, it was a record-breaking year in so many different areas,” President and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center Eva Velasquez said in the report. “We saw many different forms of identity crimes reach levels we have not seen since we were founded in 1999. With high water marks for identity fraud, compromises, and misuse, it’s important to take protective measures.”

As per the report, social media accounts were the primary target of scammers looking to take over non-financial accounts. The organization saw a 1,044% increase in this type of crime as hackers took to social media last year to hijack accounts en masse. Instagram, in particular, was a favorite among identity thieves for phishing schemes.

Other types of non-financial identity crime that surged over the year include mobile device compromises (+34%) and compromised email accounts (+76%).

Identity misuse involving government credentials or accounts also hit record levels, mostly bolstered by the introduction of federal stimulus payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ITRC said thieves heavily targeted these payments.

Overall, unemployment benefits fraud surged 88% year-over-year, with government benefits/unemployment accounts related to the coronavirus crisis making up the highest number of accounts reported as misused.

The ITRC said there was also a 288% increase in Small Business Administration (SBA) loan misuse and a 32% increase in fraudulently filed taxes.

To avoid becoming the victim of a social media scam, the nonprofit group suggested ignoring suspicious messages from so-called “friends” on Instagram and not clicking on links in unexpected messages. The ITRC also suggested freezing credit, not sharing personally identifiable information (PII), and using strong and unique passcodes to reduce the risk of identity fraud related to pandemic assistance.