93 of 100 Largest US Metros and All States Have Seen Increase in ID Theft Reports Since 2019

We have an identity crisis in this country — an identity theft crisis, that is. In recent years, reports of this crime, in which people pilfer personal and financial information for fraudulent purposes, have skyrocketed. In fact, second-quarter identity (ID) theft reports have increased by nearly 70.0% since 2019, according to the newest LendingTree study.

Victims are often left with a costly, time-consuming mess that can damage their credit score and sense of security.

So what should consumers do? First, report it when it happens — far too many don’t. Identity theft coverage may help, too.

Key findings

• Identity theft reports have increased 68.3% since 2019. 277,620 ID theft reports were submitted to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the second quarter of 2023 (the latest available data), a substantial increase from 164,982 in the same quarter in 2019. Despite this significant increase since 2019, ID theft reports have decreased in the second quarter in the past three years.
• Credit card fraud is the most common type of identity theft, but government documents or benefits fraud is rising. 103,842 ID theft reports in the second quarter of 2023 were for credit card fraud, up 61.3% from 64,393 in the same quarter in 2019. While government documents or benefits fraud may be one of the smallest types, related ID theft reports rose 345.7% between the second quarters of 2019 and 2023.
• 24 of the 100 largest U.S. metro areas saw ID theft reports per 100,000 residents at least double between the second quarters of 2019 and 2023. Reports more than quadrupled in Hartford, Conn. (388.2%), Springfield, Mass. (350.0%), and Worcester, Mass. (345.8%). Only seven of the 100 largest metros experienced a decrease in ID theft rates over the same period.
• Every state has experienced an increase of more than 11.0% in ID theft reports per 100,000 residents since 2019. Massachusetts saw a staggering 306.1% increase in ID theft reports per 100,000 residents between the second quarters of 2019 and 2023, followed by Connecticut (270.6%) and Colorado (169.0%). 16 states saw reports at least double over this period.

ID theft reports up nearly 70.0% since 2019

The increase in ID theft reports between Q2 2019 and Q2 2023 hasn’t been a mere jump. It’s been a colossal leap. Our analysis found that 277,620 ID theft reports were submitted to the FTC in the second quarter of 2023 (the most recent data available). That’s a 68.3% increase from the 164,982 reports submitted in the same quarter of 2019.

Why the leap? COVID-19, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, appears to be a major springboard. For one thing, all those trillions of dollars of government relief funds issued to Americans have had thieves working overtime. In 2020 alone, the FTC reported a 3,000% increase in ID theft tied to government benefits, according to the federal Pandemic Oversight website.

The pandemic also pushed many consumers to shop online. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, e-commerce sales increased by 43% in 2020. Online transactions present more opportunities for thieves to steal credit card numbers and other personal and financial information.

ID theft reports nationally since Q2 2019

Source: LendingTree analysis of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Sentinel Network data.

There’s a bit of bright news, though. While the overall increase in ID theft reports between Q2 2019 and Q2 2023 is sharp, there have been decreases in the second quarter of each of the past three years. That’s likely due to things settling back down after the initial pandemic surge in ID theft cases.

Don’t lower your guard yet, though. There are still hundreds of thousands of ID theft reports a quarter. It doesn’t appear to be a problem going away anytime soon.

Credit card fraud most common, but government documents or benefits fraud rising significantly

Thieves come for consumer identities in various ways. There are seven primary categories of ID fraud that the FTC uses to classify reports:

• Credit card fraud
• Other identity fraud
• Loan or lease fraud
• Bank fraud
• Employment or tax-related fraud
• Government documents or benefits fraud
• Phone or utilities fraud

Credit card fraud consistently tops the list as the most frequently reported type of ID fraud. Thieves are crafty, and they don’t need to steal your physical card to do damage. They can come for your credit card via phishing, skimming and other constantly evolving schemes.

In Q2 2023, 103,842 cases of credit card fraud were reported, including fraud on new and existing credit card accounts. That’s up 61.3% from Q2 2019 but down 7.8% from Q2 2022. This repeats the COVID-19 pandemic trend in which we saw reports soaring in the first year of the pandemic but coming down after.

It’s no surprise that government documents or benefits fraud is the category of ID fraud that saw the biggest increase in reports between Q2 2019 and Q2 2023. Even though it’s the second least common type of ID fraud overall, there was a whopping 345.7% rise in reports of it during that time. This includes:

• Issued or forged driver’s licenses
• Applied for or received government benefits
• Issued or forged government documents classified as other
• Issued or forged passports

Before COVID-19 (Q2 2019), government documents or benefits fraud was by far the least common type of ID fraud reported. This category saw 6,514 reports in Q2 2019, while credit card fraud saw 64,393 in the same quarter.

Things haven’t simmered down in this category nearly as much as others, as there was still a 119.1% increase in government documents or benefits fraud between Q2 2022 and Q2 2023. All the other types of fraud saw decreases in reports or increases of less than 7% during the same period.

ID theft reports nationally since Q2 2019 (by type)

Source: LendingTree analysis of FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data.

Nearly a quarter of 100 largest metros see ID theft reports double

Identity thieves seem to take on more work in certain metros than others. Where do they take on the most? Hartford, Conn., Springfield, Mass., and Worcester, Mass., where ID theft reports per 100,000 residents more than quadrupled between the second quarters of 2019 and 2023. They saw increases of 388.2%, 350.0% and 345.8%, respectively.

Metros that saw decreases between Q2 2019 and Q2 2023 largely had a higher starting point. For example, Columbia (the biggest decrease) had 123 reports per 100,000 residents in Q2 2019 — the third-highest across the 100 metros examined. Meanwhile, Hartford (the biggest increase) had just 34 reports per 100,000 residents that same quarter. None of the 24 metros that saw their rates double between Q2 2019 and Q2 2023 had more than 42 reports per 100,000 residents in Q2 2019. Of the seven metros that saw decreases, all had 46 reports or more in Q2 2019. So 2019 was a real trend-setter for how 2023 turned out in many cases.

It also seems to hold true, largely, that metros that saw the largest increases in ID theft reports between Q2 2019 and Q2 2023 were ones where totals were made up significantly of government documents or benefits fraud in the most recent quarter. For example, more than half of Hartford’s Q2 2023 ID theft cases were for government documents/benefits fraud (1,201 of 2,015).

Further Q2 2023 examples include:

• Springfield, Mass.: 314 of 690 were for government documents or benefits fraud
• Worcester, Mass.: 449 of 1,044 were

That compares with those with the largest decreases in ID theft reports:

• Columbia, S.C.: 24 of 667 were for government documents or benefits fraud
• Greensboro, N.C.: 11 of 403 were
• Pittsburgh: 63 of 1,319 were

According to an Associated Press (AP) analysis, more than $280 billion in COVID-19 relief funding may have gone to fraudsters, but that amount has grown and will continue to grow as more evidence comes to light.

Change in ID theft reports per 100,000 residents between Q2 2019 and Q2 2023 (by metro)

Source: LendingTree analysis of FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data.

Additional data: Change in ID theft reports per 100,000 residents between Q2 2022 and Q2 2023 (by metro)

Source: LendingTree analysis of FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data.

In Baton Rouge, La. — which saw a 72.2% dip between Q2 2022 and Q2 2023, the highest across the 100 largest metros — credit card fraud was the most pressing problem, with 311 of 724 reports being for credit card fraud and just 16 for government documents or benefits fraud.

Additional data: ID theft reports per 100,000 residents in Q2 2023 (by metro)

Source: LendingTree analysis of FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data.

Every state has seen jumps in ID theft reports since 2019

While a handful of metros avoided a jump in ID theft reports between Q2 2019 and Q2 2023, not one state has. In fact, each state has seen an increase of more than 11.0% in ID theft reports per 100,000 residents since 2019.

Topping the list is Massachusetts, with a staggering 306.1% increase in ID theft reports per 100,000 residents between Q2 2019 and Q2 2023. It’s followed by Connecticut (270.6%) and Colorado (169.0%). They’re among the 16 states that saw their reports at least double over this period.

Massachusetts metros registered the second-, third- and fourth-biggest jumps between Q2 2019 and Q2 2023, helping the Northeast state rise to the top. Connecticut also had three metros in the top 10 (the first-, fifth- and eighth-biggest jumps), while Colorado only had one (seventh-biggest).

Change in ID theft reports per 100,000 residents between Q2 2019 and Q2 2023 (by state)

Source: LendingTree analysis of FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data.

Additional data: Change in ID theft reports per 100,000 residents between Q2 2022 and Q2 2023 (by state)

Source: LendingTree analysis of FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data.

Additional data: ID theft reports per 100,000 residents in Q2 2023 (by state)

Source: LendingTree analysis of FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data.

4 consequences of ID theft — and the importance of having coverage

No matter the statistics, it just takes one case of ID theft to rock any consumer’s world. The consequences of ID theft include:

• Loss of money: Having funds stolen from your savings or investment accounts can be financially debilitating.
• Credit score damage: Your credit score can take a big hit if someone takes out a loan or another credit product in your name. This can make it harder for you to get credit or low interest rates in the future.
• Legal troubles: You could face potential legal consequences if someone commits a crime using your identity. This could also affect the status of any professional licenses you may have or future job or apartment applications.
• Emotional impact: Having your identity stolen is frustrating, and the experience often leaves victims feeling violated, embarrassed, anxious and stressed.

What can consumers do to protect themselves? Regularly monitoring their bank and credit card statements is a good first step. But it’s extremely important to have some form of ID theft protection, according to Rob Bhatt, LendingTree home insurance expert and a licensed insurance agent.

“At a minimum, you should get credit monitoring,” he says. “These plans send out an alert if someone uses your identity to apply for credit or open an account, so you can alert authorities and nip it in the bud. Three-bureau monitoring is best because these plans tend to alert you to suspicious activity quicker than single-bureau monitoring plans.”

In addition to credit monitoring, he recommends a plan that covers ID restoration or repair expenses.

Bhatt recommends getting a stand-alone ID theft protection plan from a company specializing in it. These plans typically combine credit monitoring with identity restoration benefits and additional security services.

“You can usually get a good plan for less than $15 a month,” he says. “If you have a high net worth, consider spending a little more to get a lot more protection in the form of higher coverage limits and additional services.”

Methodology

LendingTree researchers analyzed ID theft report data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Sentinel Network. We focused on second-quarter data — the latest available at the time of our research.

We calculated the metros and states with the biggest changes in ID theft reports per 100,000 residents between Q2 2019 and Q2 2023 and Q2 2022 and Q2 2023. We ranked the metros and states from the highest to lowest percentage increases.

Analysts calculated changes for the 100 most populous U.S. metros using the U.S. Census Bureau 2022 American Community Survey with one-year estimates.