The ITRC has released its 2026 Consumer Impact Report, which shows scams inflict significant trauma compared to traditional identity theft.
According to the 2026 Consumer Impact Report from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) (available for download here), general consumer scam victims experienced an average adverse impact rate of 33.7%, compared to 17.3% among traditional identity theft victims. The mental health toll is especially stark: 80.5% of general consumer scam victims reported experiencing suicidal ideation following the crime, more than three times the percentage of traditional identity theft victims at 24.5%. In contrast, suicidal ideation dropped to 15.1% among scam victims who sought free assistance from the ITRC, demonstrating that specialized intervention alters outcomes.
Other findings in the 2026 Consumer Impact Report include:
- Acute Shame vs. Externalized Anger: Since scammers weaponize social engineering, 87% of general consumer scam victims agreed the crime was partly their own fault. Self-blame remained high even among ITRC scam victims at 42.4%, compared to just 15.8% of traditional identity theft victims. Conversely, traditional identity theft was associated with higher rates of externalized anger among both general consumers (50.3% vs. 26.7%) and ITRC victims (76% vs. 65.6%).
- The “Revictimization Spiral” and the Power of Intervention: Nearly 9 in 10 (87.9%) general consumer scam victims asked an organization for help and never received a response, and 67.2% felt blamed by institutions they contacted. Without guidance, 78.9% were targeted again by secondary “recovery scammers” charging upfront fees to recover lost funds. 52.8% of ITRC victims were ignored by organizations, and just 6.5% of ITRC scam victims paid a secondary recovery scammer.
- Catastrophic Financial Fallout for Working-Age Professionals: Countering assumptions that fraud primarily strikes older adults, 86.2% of general consumer scam victims – and 92.9% of those experiencing suicidal ideation – were working-age adults between 30 and 60. Furthermore, 77.9% lived in households earning $100,000 or more annually, with 29.5% losing $100,000 or more that was never recovered.
- Severe Career and Workplace Disruption: The fallout extends directly into victims’ livelihoods, with general consumer scam victims losing their jobs as a direct consequence of the crime at nearly four times the rate of traditional identity theft victims (12.3% vs. 3.1%). Furthermore, more than one in five (20.8%) general consumer scam victims lost out on a job or promotion (compared to 4.3% of traditional identity theft victims), and 29.9% experienced strained relationships with supervisors. Among ITRC victims, job losses hit both groups hard, with 10.9% of scam victims and 12.5% of traditional identity crime victims reporting job loss.
The 48-page PDF 2026 Consumer Impact Report is chock-full of graphics, statistics, term definitions and more which makes it a very easy read. Check it out here!
So, what do you think? Have you been a victim of a scam? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.
Image created using ChatGPT, using the term “robot finding its data has been breached”.
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