New Jersey among worst states when it comes to identity theft
With so many businesses experiencing data breaches this year, Wallethub has released its 2018 report on states most vulnerable to identity theft and fraud.
Analyst Jill Gonzalez said the free credit-monitoring website looked at certain metrics to come up with the list, metrics that include identity theft complaints and fraud complaints per capita, loss amounts due to those complaints and policies that curb fraud.
New Jersey did not do well on this list, ranking third behind Nevada and Florida in terms of states with the most identity theft and fraud. It is also #1 in terms of the most identity theft complaints per capita, said Gonzalez. That's up around 200 per capita just over the past year.
A lot of that is online based in New Jersey. The average for someone who has lost money due to online shopping identity theft is around $18,000.
So why is this happening in New Jersey? Gonzalez said the state is vulnerable on the policy front. There are no security freeze laws for minors and no identity theft passport programs. The data disposal laws by state are outdated, she said.
New Jersey also had a high number of persons arrested for fraud. Gonzalez said fraud can be anything from elderly fraud to tax fraud.