Reported cases of identity theft in Riverhead and New York state continue to grow at a breakneck pace in 2021 when compared to past years.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, 67,198 reports of identity theft in 2020, up from 36,341 reports in 2019. So far, there have been 42,005 reports filed in 2021 as of May 25, more than the entirety of 2019 in only half the time.
There have been 111 reports of identity theft in Riverhead in the first four months of 2021, according to data compiled by the town police. Eighty-three of those reports were made in just the past two months — March and April. There were 73 identity theft complaints total in 2020 and 75 total in 2019.
Credit card theft made up a third of the cases reported in the state during 2020, according to a report by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The comptroller said 3,617 reports were fraud cases related to COVID-19 unemployment or government stimulus checks. Napoli warned in the report that thieves may imitate an official government or health organization to extract information and commit fraud, and to ignore contact from organizations asking for personal information in exchange for the COVID-19 vaccine.
DiNapoli said that people can limit information they put online and on social media, including birth dates, to reduce the risk of identity theft.
New Yorkers can report allegations of fraud involving taxpayer money across the State by calling the toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555, by filing a complaint online at investigations@osc.ny.gov, or by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.
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