States where you are most likely to have your identity stolen include Georgia and Louisiana
The likelihood of becoming a victim of identity theft varies significantly by state – last year it was most common in Louisiana, Georgia and Florida.
In those three Southern states, more than 500 out of every 100,000 people will be scammed by 2022, according to facts of the Federal Trade Commission.
Likewise, metropolitan areas in the South were by far the most vulnerable to identity fraud. The most defrauded Americans were citizens of cities in Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas.
Tuscaloosa in Alabama, the state’s largest college town, led as the county’s metropolitan area where identity fraud occurred the most — more than 1,000 for every 100,000, or one percent.
By comparison, some of the safer states included South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, Iowa, Maine, and Alaska.
States where identity theft is more common are shown in darker shades of blue. The worst state was Georgia and the worst metro area was Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Source: Federal Trade Commission
There were 441,822 reported cases of identity theft nationwide in 2022. Data also showed that identity theft and general fraud were about 10 times higher last year than 20 years ago.
Of the identity fraud, credit card fraud was the most common. Typically, it involves thieves using someone else’s personal information to steal from an existing credit card account or open a new one in that other person’s name.
Other forms of identity fraud included: employment, tax, benefit, loan, telephone, and utility fraud.
Surprisingly, the 30 to 39 year olds were the most defrauded age group, accounting for about 25 percent of all victims in the US.
While that age group contains more Americans than any other, about 14 percent, it was still the most victimized by identity thieves per capita, about 0.6 percent.
Americans age 80 and older had the least incidence of fraud in almost all categories, but specifically with regard to bank and credit card fraud, those 19 and younger were the least targeted.
Tuscaloosa in Alabama, the state’s largest college town, led as the county’s metropolitan area where identity fraud is the most common. One percent of residents were victims of identity fraud last year. Pictured is a gathering of students in the city
The American Rescue Plan Act, signed by Biden in 2021, includes $1.6 billion to help prevent fraud and identity theft. In the photo he talks about the plan in March 2021
The second most common form of fraud related to online shopping, checking accounts, emails and social media, medical services, insurance and more.
The FTC previously noted that the Covid-19 pandemic caused a spike in identity theft and fraud, as it usually first occurs through social media platforms.
The risk of identity theft can be reduced by taking a number of precautions, including shredding sensitive documents, running antivirus software on your computer, and using a unique and hard-to-guess password for each online account.
Measures to curtail such fraud have received federal approval and are underway.
Last month, one proposal to spend $600 million on fraud and identity theft prevention measures was proposed by the White House.
The American Rescue Plan Act, signed by Biden in 2021, contains $1.6 billion to help prevent common fraud and identity fraud. It will be available to states by June 2023.