Identity theft crimes in the US are on the rise, hitting a record number of over 650,000 reports in 2019. Although this type of fraudulent activity is widespread across the country, some US states have witnessed more identity theft crimes than others.
According to data gathered by PreciseSecurity, Georgia, Florida, and California had the highest number of identity theft reports in 2019. The three US states together hit over 211,000 complaints from citizens who became victims of identity theft fraud, or one-third of all US identity theft complaints reported last year.
Georgia Tops the List of US Identity Theft Crimes
In 2019, the number of reported identity theft frauds in the United States jumped by 45%, revealed the FTC Consumer Sentinel Network survey. More than 217,000 reports or over 40% of all identity theft complaints received last year referred to credit card frauds.
Loan or lease frauds ranked as the second most-common identity theft scam, hitting almost 105,000 complaints last year. Phone or utility frauds and bank frauds followed with 83,500 and 59,000 reports, respectively.
Although recent years have witnessed an increasing awareness about identity theft protection in all US states, the statistics show citizens of Georgia, Florida, and California were the most exposed to identity theft criminals.
Georgia had the highest rate of identity theft in 2019, with nearly 45,000 reported complaints or 427 complaints per 100,000 of the population. Also, Warner Robins and Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell were the two US metropolitan areas with the highest rate of identity theft in 2019, reporting 661 and 570 incidents per 100,000 population, respectively. Statistics indicate that over 40% of reported identity theft complaints in Georgia referred to credit card frauds.
Florida ranked second with nearly 65,000 cases of identity theft frauds in 2019, or 304 reports in 100,000 people. Credit card frauds made more than 50% of all reported identity theft scams in that US state last year.
California Hit Over 100,000 Identity Theft Complaints in 2019
Statistics show California was the third-leading US state in the number of identity fraud complaints, with 257 reports per 100,000 citizens in 2019. During the last year, more than 100,000 citizens of California fell victim to identity theft scams, which was the highest number of reported cases among all US states. Nearly half of the recorded crimes referred to credit card frauds.
On contrarily, Wyoming, Vermont, and South Dakota recorded the lowest identity theft rate in 2019, with 319, 338, and 411 complaints, respectively.
The full story can be read here: https://www.precisesecurity.com/articles/georgia-florida-and-california-recorded-one-third-of-all-us-identity-theft-reports-in-2019/
