Speakers: James Lee – Identity Theft Resource Center, Glenance Green – Black Researchers Collective, & Tiye McKethen – ITRC
Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Location: ARIA Resort & Casino | Las Vegas, NV

Description: Communities of color present unique vulnerabilities in identity crime victimization and identity fraud when compared to their non-ethnic counterparts. In 2020, 12.1% of the U.S. population identified as black, but 19% of 2020 Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) victims self-identified as black. This overrepresentation led ITRC to partner with the Black Researchers Collective to address the lack of data and culturally competent identity services available specifically to black individuals. In Phases 1 and 2 of the initiative, the two organizations collected responses nationally to understand how individuals in black communities use, maintain, protect, and, when compromised, recover or remediate those identities. The methodology of the research conducted by Black Researchers Collective and ITRC created internal practical theory learned from the failures and successes during the quantitative and qualitative research. Black Researchers Collective members’ have unique lived experiences that were critical to the analysis of data from these communities. This research unveils the existing flaws in active and passive identity and privacy practices. In this presentation, case studies of identity crimes in black communities will be discussed. We’ll also talk about the navigation of remediating these crimes in communities that may have unique sociogenic approaches to crime prevention and interaction with law enforcement.