Along with a higher risk of flooding, Florida residents are the most vulnerable in the United States for identity theft, at least according to a recent analysis from personal finance website SmartAsset.
“The top five states all had more than 550 complaints about identity fraud per 100,000 residents, and Florida topped the list with 1,510. Maryland had 749 complaints about identity fraud per 100,000 residents and also ranked high for household income, with 49.8% of households making more than $74,999, compared to 29.8% of Floridians,” according to this marketwatch.com story.
SmartAsset examined the following information in order to come up with their ranking:
- identity theft complaints,
- the percentage of the population under age 10 and over age 65 (both children and seniors are statistically more at risk of identity theft),
- the average number of open credit cards per resident and
- the percent of higher-earning households (over $74,999 per year)
Using the five metrics and giving equal weight to each, SmartAsset ranked the states.
Here are the top 10:
- Florida
- Maryland
- Delaware
- New Jersey
- Connecticut
- Rhode Island
- California
- Arizona
- New Hampshire
- Texas
Statistically speaking, here are the five safest states to live in:
46: Arkansas
47: Vermont
48: Indiana
49: West Virginia
50: Kentucky
To see where your state falls, visit the full results here.
The takeaway? Identity theft doesn’t discriminate: “Whether you’re old or young, rich or poor, identity theft can happen to anyone.”
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