The Riskiest States for Identity Theft
The FTC has compiled a list of the worst states for identity theft and, for the second year in a row, Arizona tops the list with 142.5 victims per 100,000 people. Rounding out the top 10 are Nevada, California, Texas, Colorado, Florida, New York, Washington, Oregon and Illinois. Looking for a safe state? Try North or South Dakota, which rank 49th and 50th, respectively. For an interactive map of all 50 states, click here. Even if you live in one of the ‘bad’ states, though, it’s important to keep things in perspective, as the percentage of people affected is quite small (e.g., the numbers above work out to < 0.15% of all people in Arizona). If you’re one of the affected few, then it really, really (really, really, really) sucks. But the odds of being hit by identity theft are still pretty slim, regardless of what you hear in the popular press.
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Filed under: Identity Theft
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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August 25th, 2005 at 7:08 am
Or even worse… the internet
August 25th, 2005 at 8:18 am
Whoo hoo, my state is ranked 48th, just outside being mentioned here!
August 26th, 2005 at 10:19 am
Yikes! I’m in the 16th state!!!!
June 9th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Identity theft is also very preverlant in Asia. The key is always be on the lookout and guard that card.
February 16th, 2012 at 9:01 am
Tennessee’s numbers are deceptively low. Police take reports and do nothing, courts process name changes and adoptions off the books, and the state’s natural beauty assures a steady supply of tourists to fleece. All of that friendliness is simply informal asset searching.