With Americans having lost $10 billion to scams last year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States Most Vulnerable to Identity Theft & Fraud, along with expert commentary, to identify where people are most at risk of financial harm.
WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 14 key metrics. The data set ranges from identity theft complaints per capita to the average loss due to fraud.
| Most Vulnerable States | Least Vulnerable States | ||
| 1. District of Columbia | 42. Idaho | ||
| 2. Delaware | 43. Wisconsin | ||
| 3. California | 44. Utah | ||
| 4. South Dakota | 45. Kentucky | ||
| 5. Florida | 46. Arkansas | ||
| 6. Nevada | 47. Kansas | ||
| 7. Connecticut | 48. Vermont | ||
| 8. Arizona | 49. Montana | ||
| 9. Texas | 50. Rhode Island | ||
| 10. Iowa | 51. West Virginia | ||
Key Stats
- South Dakota has the fewest identity-theft complaints (per 100,000 residents), 5.1 times fewer than in the District of Columbia, the state with the most.
- The District of Columbia has the fewest people arrested for fraud per capita, 20.7 times fewer than in Delaware, the state with the most.
- South Dakota has the fewest fraud complaints (per 100,000 residents), 3.2 times fewer than in the District of Columbia, which has the most.
- Kentucky has the lowest median loss amount due to fraud, 2.1 times lower than in Alaska, the state with the highest.
