Where ID Theft Occurs Most

On Monday, we discussed some statistics about identity theft, citing which states had the highest incidents of ID Theft. We mentioned Florida, Arizona, California, Georgia and Texas as the top 5.

There are dozens of reasons and theories as to why these states could be so high, so we thought it made sense to discuss a couple of our theories today.

• Thieves prey on the elderly. It is entirely possible that thieves look for communities with a higher percentage of elderly people, or seek out elderly people in communities. First off, elderly folks are less likely to be utilizing e-banking of some sort, meaning that there is potential for a few weeks for thieves to operate before being caught (those who log in to their bank accounts online often are more likely to catch a thief early, as opposed to someone who only looks at direct mail statements). Additionally, it is possible that elderly folks who have retired may have large amounts of money in their bank accounts (nest eggs can be particularly appealing to a thief)

• Thieves prey on those who struggle with English. The states listed above tend to all have high immigration rates. It can be much easier for thieves to "trick" someone who doesn’t speak English very well and phishing schemes can be particularly devastating.

It's something to keep in mind, whether you live in these areas or not.

Posted by Christine