Kentucky Among Least Dangerous States for Identity Theft

Identity theft is becoming a growing concern among all Americans, especially with the increase in online baking, credit card use, and so forth. According to Cloudwards, Americans lost as much as $12.5 billion in 2023 to identity theft. Credit card fraud was at the top of that list, with more than 380,000 reports made in 2023 alone. In light of this data, Cloudwards sought to understand which states ranked highest for identity theft and which states ranked the least for the crime.

Data from Cloudwards indicated that Washington, D.C., has the highest identity theft risk in the United States, with 478 reports per 100,000 people. Personally, this surprised me, as I thought there would be more safe guards in place for the state housing the nation's capitol. I had expected the state with the highest form of identity theft to be Nevada, but perhaps that belief was sparked by a few too many episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. That said, Nevada's rate is still on the high side. Here are the top ten most dangerous states for identity theft in the United States:

1. Washington, D.C.
2. Massachusetts
3. Connecticut
4. Nevada
5. Pennsylvania
6. Georgia
7. Ohio
8. Nebraska
9. Florida
10. Arizona

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When it comes to the least dangerous states for identity theft, you'll be happy to know that Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee all fall under that category. Tennesse ranked number one on that list, with fraud investigators receiving 185 reports per 100,000, which was an over 21% drop from the previous year. Kentucky came in at number five and Indiana at number nine. Here are the rankings:

1. Tennessee
2. Montana
3. New Mexico
4. Utah
5. Kentucky
6. Kansas
7. Virginia
8. Arkansas
9. Indiana
10. Hawaii

Another fact Cloudwards alluded to was that Georgia and Kentucky have some of the highest fines for identity theft. Yet, Kentucky is among the least dangerous states for identity theft, while Georgia is among the highest. If found guilty of the crime in Kentucky, one could face a $500,000 fine and up to 12 years in prison. Perhaps folks in Kentucky simply have better things to do? That said, identity theft is always a risk, so making sure your information is secure can go a long way in protecting yourself and your assets.