Out of the over two and half million U.S. citizens who become victims of credit card fraud and identity theft every year, these states’ residents are most likely to be affected.
New York, N.Y. — Financial fraud and data security threats have become increasingly prevalent, and it can have a long-lasting effect on victims. RewardExpert – a free service that helps users take full advantage of their credit card points and travel rewards – today released the findings of its report identifying The Most At-Risk States for Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft.
“After the Equifax security breach, the whole country became gravely concerned about the security of their financial and personal information. However, events such as these take place on a smaller scale almost daily,” says RewardExpert CEO and co-founder Roman Shteyn. “The integral role of the internet in today’s society exposes all of us to risk, especially when it comes to our bank accounts, credit cards, and our credit histories. This report determines in which states your risk of becoming a victim is the highest, and in which states you are at relatively lower risk.”
Key findings of the report include:
- From 2015 to 2016 reports of credit card fraud increased nationwide by 5.15%, while reports of identity theft decreased significantly, by 16.05% in the same time period.
- There is no correlation between per capita income and incidents of identity theft and/or credit card fraud. The average per capita income for the top ten states is $55,994, whereas the average income for states with the lowest incidence and impact of fraud and theft is marginally lower at $55,186.
- There is a relatively strong correlation between reports of credit card fraud & identity theft and average credit scores. Credit scores for the ten states most prone to fraud average in the 23rd percentile nationwide, whereas in the states least prone to fraud average in the 68th.
The three states that are most at-risk for credit card fraud and identity theft are:
- Nevada – On all measures, Nevada takes first place as the state in which the risk of credit card fraud and identity theft is highest. Nevada is one of only six states in which reports of identity theft increased from 2015 to 2016..
- California – California (along with Florida and Michigan) leads the nation in reports of identity theft. Furthermore, incidents in California tend to involve larger losses than the national average.
- New Mexico – Credit card fraud complaints have increased by a whopping 12.73% in the course of a year in third-place New Mexico. According to the FBI, the average incident costs a resident of New Mexico $3,647.
The three states that are least at-risk for credit card fraud and identity theft are:
- Iowa – Credit card fraud reports are third lowest in Iowa both online and off, while identity theft reports are also among the lowest in the nation ranking in the fourth percentile.
- South Dakota – South Dakota leads the nation for having the least internet-facilitated credit card theft and the lowest financial losses due to identity theft, at a mere $264 per incident.
- Wyoming – With Wyoming coming in at third least-impacted by fraud and identity theft, we can see a clear geographical pattern, which will become even more obvious as our list goes on: states in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains regions have the lowest rates of reported credit card fraud and identity theft.
“No one thinks credit card fraud or identity theft will happen to them, until it does.” says Shteyn. “Residents in the most at-risk states should take extra precautions in protecting their financial and sensitive information. Simple steps like reviewing your bank and credit card statements for unusual activity, monitoring your credit report, and shredding sensitive documents can be the difference between security and years of financial and personal turmoil.”
RewardExpert used three key data sets to obtain the most current statistics on credit card fraud and identity theft in each state: the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center’s 2016 annual state-by-state report, the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Report for 2016 and 2015, and complaints filed with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. A composite score was used to rank the states based upon a weighted average of the per-capita incidence rates of reported credit card fraud and identity theft from these three sources.
For further information and to view the full report, visit the RewardExpert website.
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