Javelin Strategy & Research, reports that there has been an increase of 13 percent in identity Theft in 2011.

In 2010, roughly ten million adults were victims of ID fraud. In 2011, that number rose to 11.6 million adults. Javelin Strategy & Research’s long-running study surveyed 5,022 US consumers in October 2011 in order pinpoint the impact of fraud, as well as the prime areas of vulnerability. The fraud report found that, in 2011, the main catalysts for the rise in ID theft incidents were the rampant data breaches, negligent smartphone security and publicly displayed personal information on social media sites.

Some good news, though (kind of). The costs of identity fraud haven’t increased. Compared to 2004, the consumer’s out-of-pocket costs have actually decreased by 44 percent. The report believes that this is due to the crack-down on authentication by institutions, as well as consumer awareness efforts by the government and institutions.

Key to the large number of identity theft incidents was the increase in data breaches, use of smartphones, and increased social networking in 2011.

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