Recover Me If you Can: Improving Services to Victims of Identity Theft

Statement of the Problem: Identity theft can be an overwhelming experience for victims with adverse consequences across financial, temporal, social, and mental health domains.

Subjects: The outcome integrates existing data from ITS with exclusive survey data from ITRC to create a three-arm study design in which victims of identity theft who receive no services (Arm 1) are compared with those who receive a variety of traditional services (Arm 2) and those who receive ITRC services (Arm 3). Each arm is expected to include 330 respondents for a total of roughly 990 subjects. The process component includes interviews with 12 program staff members, and the validation component includes interviews with roughly 50 victims and 5–7 focus groups of 8–10 stakeholders.

Partnerships: Development Services Group (DSG) is partnered with the University of Texas and Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) to conduct this research.

Research Design and Methods: We offer a multi-method approach to assess the effect and quality of services provided to victims of serious identity theft across four types of outcomes: social, mental health, physical health, and financial problems. The first component integrates existing data from the Identity Theft Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey with exclusive survey data from ITRC. The second component permits a more in-depth understanding of the quality of services through a process evaluation of ITRC’s program. The third component involves the validation of the observed outcomes and a conceptualization of the requisite advancements required to improve identity recovery assistance.

Analysis: The result of the outcome component will assess the effect of services (individually and collectively) provided to victims of serious identity theft across four classes of outcomes: social, mental health, physical health, and financial. The result of the process component will offer (1) a comprehensive understand the ITRC program within the contextual environment in which it operates and (2) assess the quality of service delivery across four dimensions: adherence, proficiency, exposure, and responsiveness. The result of the validation component will triangulate the results from the outcome component with the unique perspectives of third party stakeholders (i.e., governmental, financial, and medical industry representatives) and victims of identity theft.

Products: The study will produce scholarly products, such as published articles and book chapters, and products for the broader public, including press releases, research briefs, policy briefs, Web sites, webinars, and local and regional seminars and conferences. ca/ncf