In recent years, significant data breaches have compromised many Americans’ personal information. U.S. consumers reported losing $10 billion to fraud in 2023, up $1 billion from the previous year.

This year, there have already been big data breaches at companies such as Microsoft, AT&T, Change Healthcare and Ticketmaster.

Each new year brings new strategies from identity thieves and fraudsters, but older schemes, such as tech support scams and fake IRS calls, still abound. Some Americans are more susceptible to such crimes than others, however. To determine who is most likely to be exposed to and affected by identity theft and fraud, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 14 key metrics. Our data set ranges from identity theft complaints per capita to the average loss due to fraud.

California ranks third in the nation for exposure to identity theft and fraud, in large part because its residents have the sixth-highest average loss due to identity theft, at over $11,000. Residents also have the third-highest median loss due to fraud, at $670.

For every 100,000 residents, California had 304 identity theft complaints and 1,027 fraud complaints last year, the 11th-most and 20th-most in the country, respectively. In addition, California has the fifth-highest fraud rate for e-commerce when considering both shipping addresses and billing addresses located in the state.

While California does have most of the essential laws necessary for addressing identity theft and fraud, there is still room for improvement. For example, the state still lacks an identity theft passport program to help people prove their identities after an incident.

Quick Tips for Avoiding Identity Theft & Fraud

-Emphasize Email Security: Using strong passwords for all financial accounts is important, but you may not realize how essential it is to focus on email. Your primary email address will likely be your username and means of resetting your password on other websites. If it’s vulnerable, all of your other accounts will be, too. As a result, use an exceptionally secure password and establish two-step verification for this account.

-Sign up for Credit Monitoring: Credit monitoring is the best way to keep tabs on your credit report. It provides peace of mind through alerts about significant changes to your file, including potential signs of identity theft. WalletHub offers 24/7 monitoring of your TransUnion credit report if you sign up for a free account, and you can also get advanced identity theft protection with WalletHub Premium.

-Leverage Account Alerts & Update Contact Info: Setting up online management for all of your financial accounts (e.g., credit cards, loans, Social Security), and keeping your phone number, email address, and street address up to date will make them harder for identity thieves to hijack. Establishing alerts for changes to your contact info and other suspicious account activity will safeguard you.

-Use Common Sense Online: Don’t open emails you don’t recognize. Don’t download files from untrustworthy sources. Don’t send account numbers and passwords via email or messenger applications. And don’t enter financial or personal information into websites that lack the “https” prefix in their URLs.

For more tips and information, check out WalletHub’s Identity Theft Guide.

For the full report and more information check out the website.