Where In The United States Has The Most Identity Theft Cases?

Michelle Wilson - April 24, 2020

If there is one thing that is always a current topic of conversation these days, it’s Identity theft. It is a major issue in the United States. It’s hard to remember a time when we weren’t hearing about some major corporation being exploited by hackers. Most of the time a good swath of us are affected, with our data being compromised and now in the hands of the cyber criminals. But thanks to a personal finance company called WalletHub, we are now able to determine in what parts of the country we are seeing specific types of identity theft the most.

The magic number we will focus on in this article is 9,400. It’s not some random amount of jelly beans in a jar, nor the height of a colossal mountain. No… it is the number of data breaches the United States has seen in the past 13 years… which is nearly 2 a day. So there is a very, VERY, high probability that your information is right now being scurried around the dark web, where it is being bought and sold on seedy dive sites (we imagine they are seedy… they would seem seedy…).

Would it actually help you to know whether or not you currently reside in a state known for its frequent identity theft cases? Maybe, maybe not. But hey data is fun, and if we are in for a penny we’re in for a buck. So let’s do this!

Besides its always a good idea to stay vigilant. If there is one constant theme of the articles you will read here on CheckPeople it’s “stay vigilant!”. Ok so let’s get to the data already.

Top 5 Identity Theft Complaints

Has anyone ever opened a new line of credit in your name or maybe some other kind of financial account? It can really be a pain in the butt and very difficult to get fixed. Here you’ll find the top 5 states where complaints are most common, per capita.

1. District of Columbia (D.C.)
2. Michigan
3. Florida
4. California
5. Maryland

Highest Loss Resulting from Identity Theft

Nobody is ever REALLY made entirely whole when dealing with identity theft and financials. The truth is, someone ends up footing the bill and in the end that bill trickles down to the rest of us. We all pay for it. Either way you look at it, identify theft equals money lost. Here’s a list of the top 5 states with the highest recorded loses via Identity Theft.

1. Ohio
2. North Dakota
3. West Virginia
4. Nebraska
5. New Jersey

Another mantra you’ll see frequent our articles, is “Change your passwords often!”. And please take 2 minutes to check your bank and card statements. I know it’s hard to open an envelope. But please make an effort. It’s sometimes easy to spot suspicious behavior if you just take the extra time.

Most Fraud Complaints per Capita

Alright so fraud is not as much of a pain in the butt as identity theft, it can still get under your skin. And if you aren’t protected it could still mean you are losing money. Here are the most fraud complaints per capita.

1. District of Columbia
2. Florida
3. Georgia
4. Nevada
5. Delaware

The steps to prevent identity theft are really no different than that of those to protect yourself from most fraud. Keeping your eyes on your statements and paying attention, even if it’s just for a few minutes a week, could make all the different. You don’t want your information floating around the dark web at all, but if it gets there you want to catch it as soon as possible to prevent further damages.

Top 10 States with the Most Overall Identity Theft & Fraud

The following are the 10 states with the highest identity theft and fraud. There are several factors WalletHub considered when coming up with these rankings, including instances of both identity theft and fraud.

1. Nevada
2. Florida
3. New Jersey
4. Delaware
5. California
6. District of Columbia
7. New York
8. West Virginia
9. Michigan
10. North Dakota

Run a public records search on yourself if you want to determine if anyone has ever tried to steal your identity. CheckPeople will do a deep dive into the dark web to ensure your data is still secure and will alert you if any issues do occur. It’s always good to have the data. The sooner you can rectify the situation the less it will end up costing you in the end, and with the rate of data breaches it’s really only a matter of time.