Identity theft has become more prevalent, with nearly 10 million American victims losing $48 billion in 2008.
 
The number of victims rose 22 percent to a record 9.9 million in 2008 from 8.1 million a year earlier, with about one in 23 U.S. adults becoming victims, according to the fifth annual study by Javelin Strategy & Research, released Monday.
 
The economic recession that began in December 2007 is likely a factor in the increase in theft cases, according to James Van Dyke, the president of Javelin. "Identity fraud has been dropping until last year, boom, there was a turn-up," he said in an interview. "The only thing we can logically attribute that to is the economy. If people need to make money, and decide to do so illicitly, identity fraud is the logical opportunity."

People who made more than $75,000 were more likely to be fraud victims than those who made less. By age, the fraud rate was highest among people 35 to 44 years old.
 
Among ethnic groups, Hispanics had the highest rate of being defrauded, followed by African-Americans, Caucasians and Asians. And by geography, fraud risk was highest in California and Illinois, and lowest in New England and the Plains states.

One unexpected trend was that women were 26 percent more likely to be fraud victims than men. Javelin attributed this to fraudsters' increased focus on finding victims in stores and restaurants, where it said women may spend more frequently.