Identity theft and credit card fraud take place every day in a variety of ways. However, residents in some states and large metropolitan areas are more vulnerable to identity theft than others.
In 2014, there were 332,646 identity theft complaints in the U.S., according to data from the Federal Trade Commission.
Most homeowners and renters policies provide coverage for theft of money or credit cards, according to the Insurance Information Institute. However, the amount of coverage is limited (usually $200 in cash and $50 on credit cards). Some companies now include coverage for identity theft as part of their homeowners insurance policy. Others sell it as either a stand-alone policy or as an endorsement to a homeowners or renters insurance policy which can run about $25-$50 annually.
NerdWallet, a personal finance website, reviewed federal data from the FTC that includes complaints by consumers to the FTC, as well as reports received by federal and state law enforcement agencies, national consumer protection organizations and nongovernmental organizations, to rank ID theft rates by states and large metro areas from December 2011 to Sept. 14, 2015.
The most common kind of identity theft is fraud involving government documents, such as Social Security cards, passports and driver’s licenses, and government benefits fraud. Other kinds of identity theft are credit card fraud, phone or utilities fraud, bank fraud and employment-related fraud.
Credit card fraud complaints comprised 17.4% of the 332,646 total identity theft complaints in 2014. EMV technology, a way to make credit card payments more secure by generating a unique code for each in-person credit card transaction, is being widely adopted across the U.S. Merchants or vendors who don’t support EMV technology are now liable for fraudulent transactions that occur in person.
The lowest rate of identity theft complaints was in South Dakota, Hawaii and North Dakota. Residents in North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming and Iowa file the fewest credit card fraud complaints.
Following are the 15 states and 15 largest metro areas in the U.S. with the highest rates of ID theft complaints per 100,00 residents. You'll notice that credit card fraud was reported more on the coasts.
Top 15 states for ID theft in 2014
15. Connecticut
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 85.4
Government documents or benefits fraud: 37.2
Credit card fraud: 16.1
Phone or utilities fraud: 10.6
Bank fraud: 6.5
Employment fraud: 3.8
14. Colorado
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 85.5
Government documents or benefits fraud: 30.9
Credit card fraud: 12.6
Phone or utilities fraud: 9.1
Bank fraud: 8.7
Employment fraud: 8.1
13. Illinois
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 96.6
Government documents or benefits fraud: 35.3
Credit card fraud: 14.9
Phone or utilities fraud: 16.9
Bank fraud: 6.9
Employment fraud: 4.4
12. Texas
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 95.9
Government documents or benefits fraud: 35.0
Credit card fraud: 14.4
Phone or utilities fraud: 11.0
Bank fraud: 7.5
Employment fraud: 7.7
11. Maryland
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 95.9
Government documents or benefits fraud: 33.9
Credit card fraud: 17.3
Phone or utilities fraud: 13.4
Bank fraud: 8.5
Employment fraud: 3.4
10. Arizona
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 96.0
Government documents or benefits fraud: 29.9
Credit card fraud: 13.8
Phone or utilities fraud: 10.1
Bank fraud: 7.4
Employment fraud: 12.7
9. Nevada
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 100.2
Government documents or benefits fraud: 28.0
Credit card fraud: 22.3
Phone or utilities fraud: 10.8
Bank fraud: 10.3
Employment fraud: 6.0
8. California
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 100.5
Government documents or benefits fraud: 24.8
Credit card fraud: 24.7
Phone or utilities fraud: 11.6
Bank fraud: 10.4
Employment fraud: 8.2
7. Michigan
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 104.3
Government documents or benefits fraud: 44.0
Credit card fraud: 14.3
Phone or utilities fraud: 23.2
Bank fraud: 5.9
Employment fraud: 3.3
6. Georgia
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 112.7
Government documents or benefits fraud: 45.9
Credit card fraud: 17.1
Phone or utilities fraud: 16.1
Bank fraud: 9.1
Employment fraud: 3.4
5. Missouri
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 118.7
Government documents or benefits fraud: 73.6
Credit card fraud: 12.2
Phone or utilities fraud: 9.4
Bank fraud: 5.9
Employment fraud: 2.7
4. Oregon
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 124.6
Government documents or benefits fraud: 76.6
Credit card fraud: 13.0
Phone or utilities fraud: 6.4
Bank fraud: 6.6
Employment fraud: 2.5
3. Washington, D.C.
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 142.8
Government documents or benefits fraud: 47.5
Credit card fraud: 25.0
Phone or utilities fraud: 22.3
Bank fraud: 12.0
Employment fraud: 5.8
2. Washington state
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 154.8
Government documents or benefits fraud: 85.7
Credit card fraud: 17.6
Phone or utilities fraud: 9.4
Bank fraud: 8.8
Employment fraud: 4.8
1. Florida
Total ID theft (complaints per 100,00 residents): 186.3
Government documents or benefits fraud: 96.1
Credit card fraud: 28.1
Phone or utilities fraud: 15.0
Bank fraud: 15.3
Employment fraud: 5.1
Next: Top 15 U.S. cities for identity theft
Top 15 U.S. metro areas
15. Beckley, W.Va.
Total identity theft complaints: 176
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 141.4
14. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.
Total identity theft complaints: 7,809
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 141.4
13. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
Total identity theft complaints: 908
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 145.7
12. Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Total identity theft complaints: 650
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 148.4
11. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.
Total identity theft complaints: 988
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 149.4
10. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich.
Total identity theft complaints: 6,522
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 151.9
9. Jacksonville, Fla.
Total identity theft complaints: 2,156
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 154.6
8. Pueblo, Colo.
Total identity theft complaints: 252
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 156.1
7. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Oregon and Washington
Total identity theft complaints: 3,685
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 159.2
6. Olympia-Tumwater, Wash.
Total identity theft complaints: 418
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 159.3
5. Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Fla.
Total identity theft complaints: 586
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 172.5
4. Tallahassee, Fla.
Total identity theft complaints: 706
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 189.1
3. St. Louis
Total identity theft complaints: 5,724
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 204.4
2. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.
Total identity theft complaints: 7,473
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 207
1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.
Total identity theft complaints: 18,428
ID theft complaints (per 100,000 residents): 316.2
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Jayleen R. Heft
Jayleen Heft is the digital content editor for PropertyCasualty360.com. Contact her at [email protected].
