FTC says web site will aid recovery from identity theft

By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission has upgraded a web site designed to guide victims of identity theft in their efforts to mitigate the damage, the agency said on Thursday. An estimated 17.6 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2014, according to Justice Department figures. Theft of tax refunds are the fastest growing category, said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. The FTC, which maintains the website https://identitytheft.gov/, said that it would help consumers contact police departments, the Internal Revenue Service, credit bureaus and other agencies in what is often a lengthy effort to undo the damage done by identity theft. The FTC received 221,854 complaints in 2015 from people who said that identity theft had led to the loss of their wages or tax refunds. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)