15 Cities With the Highest Rates of Identity Theft

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Upgraded Points.

Data breaches are on the rise, both throughout the U.S. and globally.

Anyone and everyone is at risk of falling victim to a data breach or cyberattack, and hackers and cybercriminals come up with new ways to steal sensitive information and personal data every day.

As a result, reports of identity theft is becoming more and more common.

As more and more financial transactions, official registrations, and general interactions have moved online, identity theft reports have increased sharply.

While identity theft occurs throughout the U.S., it’s more prevalent in certain geographic regions.

Here are the cities with the most identity theft.

1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 87.3
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 53,201
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): +2.8%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +54.4%

2. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 75.2
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 46,195
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): -9.7%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +36.1%

3. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 63.0
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 45,408
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): -21.4%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +77.0%

4. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 57.0
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 15,349
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): +5.2%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +115.1%

5. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 55.5
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 34,557
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): -10.9%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +144.6%

6. Memphis, TN-MS-AR

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 51.6
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 6,892
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): -44.6%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +15.3%

7. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 49.2
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 63,962
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): -4.9%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +17.3%

8. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 48.9
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 11,219
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): -25.5%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +63.1%

9. New Orleans-Metairie, LA

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 48.4
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 6,109
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): -26.5%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +53.5%

10. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 43.8
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 34,005
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): -28.9%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +23.0%

11. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 43.7
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 11,806
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): +11.4%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +97.7%

12. Birmingham-Hoover, AL

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 40.5
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 4,509
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): -17.0%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +64.7%

13. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 39.0
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 37,048
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): -59.8%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +80.5%

14. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 37.5
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 12,078
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): +1.6%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +89.2%

15. Richmond, VA

• Identity Theft Reports per 10,000 Residents: 37.4
• Total Number of Identity Theft Reports: 4,932
• 1-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2021-2022): +29.1%
• 3-Year Change in Identity Theft Reports (2019-2022): +138.7%

Methodology

To determine the cities with the highest rates of identity theft, researchers at Upgraded Points analyzed the latest data from the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2022 and the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey.

The researchers ranked locations by the number of identity theft reports per 10,000 residents. In the event of a tie, the location with the larger total number of identity theft reports was ranked higher.

To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 people were included in the analysis.