WASHINGTON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Nearly 4 percent of American adults were victims of identity theft in 2005, but half of them did not incur any out-of-pocket expenses, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday.

An agency survey found identity information was stolen from 8.3 million U.S. adults and most commonly used to access or open accounts for credit cards, bank checking, telephone service, e-mail, and medical insurance.
"In more than half of the incidents, victims incurred no out-of-pocket
expenses," the FTC said in a statement.

However, 10 percent of the victims reported out-of-pocket expenses of $1,200 or more, it said.

The FTC survey also looked at the value of goods or services that thieves obtained using the victims' personal information. In half of all incidents, thieves obtained items or services worth $500 or less while in 10 percent of cases, thieves got at least $6,000.

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