Where in the U.S. are Identity Thieves Most Active?

Does where you live make you at higher or lower risk of identity theft? If so, which U.S. Cities and states are at highest risk of identity theft? A recent study provides the answers to those questions. According to ID Analytics Inc., New Yorkers, especially those living in New York City, are major targets for identity theft. Californians were the runners up, especially those living in Los Angeles.

So who else made the list? The states with the highest rates of identity theft include: New York, California, Nevada, Arizona, Illinois, Hawaii, Oregon, Michigan, Washington and Texas. The study goes on to say that the cities at the highest risk include: New York, NY; Detroit, MI; Los Angeles, CA; Little Rock, AR; Greenville, MS; Atlanta, GA; Phoenix, AR; Portland, OR; Dallas, TX, and Springfield, IL.

The lowest rates of identity theft are in the following states: Wyoming, Vermont, Montana, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Maine, Iowa, West Virginia and South Dakota. Keep in mind that lower risk doesn't mean no risk. I live in one of these “low risk” states, but I was still hit.

Is ID Theft Still a Problem? Yes!!!

The financial services industry has been promoting that identity theft is on the decline and that it is no longer the serious problem it once was. They'd like to think so, wouldn't they? According to the Federal Trade Commission, that's not necessarily the case. For the seventh year in a row, the crime identity theft has topped the FTC's complaint list.

So what does the statistics from the 2006 FTC complaint list tell us? First of all, identity theft accounts for 36% of the 674,354, or 246,035 consumers reported being victims of ID theft. That doesn't even account for all the cases. There will always be a percentage that don't report the crime because either it was a close friend or relative and they don't want to press charges or they are embarrassed about being a victim and getting scammed. On the decline they say?

While there were no close runners-up, some distant ones include shop-at-home/catalog sales (7%); prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries (7%); Internet services and computer complaints (6%); Internet auction fraud (5%), and the list goes on from there.

I hope that this report is enough to convince you that identity theft is still very much with us. Keep that information safe.

Increased Penalties for Some Identity Thieves

Most people would agree that more needs to be done to not only catch identity thieves, but also that they should be punished to robbing people of their identity and financial stability. It looks like the punishments for at least some identity thieves may become stiffer. Friday the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill that will increase penalties for those convicted of committing financial identity theft against a disabled or elderly person. The proposal will now be decided by the Senate.

The penalty is now between three and 10 years of prison time and a fine of up to $10,000, but if this bill passes, it would increase to between five and twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. The bill would also allow the court to order anyone convicted of identity to pay restitution to his/her victims.

While this is a step in the right direction, I don't really think its enough. For one thing, some identity thieves operate from offshore. These thieves are rarely investigated or caught, let alone punished. Besides, what's to stop a local identity thief to leave the country before he is caught? More needs to be done to train local law enforcement to investigate and catch identity thieves and educate the public regarding prevention methods.