ORLANDO, Fla. — The Sunshine State tops WalletHub’s 2025 List of States Most Vulnerable to Identity Theft & Fraud.

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The data set, which was determined based on a set of 15 key metrics including identity theft complaints per capita and the average loss due to fraud, sees Florida take the number one spot for a variety of reasons, namely the lack of “suitable laws” protecting against the crime of identity theft.

States Most Vulnerable to Identity Theft & Fraud

Source: WalletHub

“Florida doesn’t have an identity theft passport program,” WalletHub writes, “which is a way to help prove your identity if it gets stolen, and the state doesn’t have laws against spyware on computers either.”

WalletHub calculated that Florida had 528 identity theft complaints and 2,163 fraud complaints for every 100,000 residents in 2024. Those numbers are “the highest and second-highest rates in the nation, respectively,” coming in after California and New Jersey.

As AI and other technological advancements make it easier to fall for a scammer’s attempts to get your information, it can be difficult to discern what online is real or not.

Couple that with an uptick in significant data breaches, an influx of spam calls and tech support scams, our identities are at more risk than ever before.

“In an age where we have sensitive data online in a multitude of places, we risk falling victim to identity theft and fraud whenever there’s a data breach,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “Living in a state with robust legal protections against identity theft and fraud, such as identity theft passports and cybersecurity task forces, can decrease your risk of falling victim to these crimes, though staying vigilant and protecting yourself online is still the most important.”

When it comes to protecting yourself from online scammers and identity thieves, WalletHub has a few tips:

Emphasize Email Security: Use strong passwords for all your accounts, especially your email. So many important messages come through this medium and “if it is vulnerable, all of your other accounts will be, too.” WalletHub suggests using a uniquely strong password, as well as two-factor verification for this account.
Leverage Account Alerts & Update Contact Info
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."

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