(Wallethub) - In recent years, significant data breaches have compromised many Americans’ personal information. U.S. consumers reported losing $10 billion to fraud in 2023, up $1 billion from the previous year. This year, there have already been big data breaches at companies such as Microsoft, AT&T, Change Healthcare and Ticketmaster.
Each new year brings new strategies from identity thieves and fraudsters, but older schemes, such as tech support scams and fake IRS calls, still abound. Some Americans are more susceptible to such crimes than others, however. To determine who is most likely to be exposed to and affected by identity theft and fraud, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 14 key metrics, ranging from identity theft complaints per capita to the average loss due to fraud.
Nevada fared poorly in the study, coming in as the 6th most vulnerable state for ID theft. Among the categories where the Silver State fared the worst:
- 1st – State Security-Freeze Laws for Minors’ Credit Reports
- 4th – Identity-Theft Complaints per Capita
- 4th – Fraud & Other Complaints per Capita
- 4th – Median Loss Amount Due to Fraud
- 10th – Persons Arrested for Fraud per Capita
The study found the District of Columbia as the most vulnerable place, followed by Delaware, California, South Dakota and Florida.
West Virginia was deemed least vulnerable, followed by Rhode Island, Montana, Vermont and Kansas.
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