He conceded, though, that lifestyle issues, such as the greater likelihood of young people having roommates and also moving from apartment to apartment, may also raise their risk.

Javelin has long emphasized that its results show that while online fraud caused by shadowy elements may grab headlines, most fraud is committed by people close to the victims and/or through decidedly low-tech means.

The 2006 survey results continue to bear that out, Van Dyke said. Of the 42 percent of victims who knew how their personal information was stolen and the fraud committed, only 4 percent said phishing was the cause, while 38 percent said the cause was a stolen wallet or credit card.

All told, online causes of fraud, including phishing, viruses or spyware, totaled just 16 percent of identity fraud. That is up from the 9 percent of ID fraud cases that started online in 2005, though Javelin said its sample size is so small that the increase is not statistically significant.

Of 31 percent of victims who knew the perpetrator's identity, one-quarter said it was a family member or relative, while 23 percent said it was a friend, neighbor or in-home employee. By contrast, just 2 percent were people they'd met over the Internet, and another 2 percent were employees at a financial institution.