Minnesota Ranks Middle Of Pack In Vulnerability To Identity Theft/Fraud

In recent years, American's have seen several different data breaches that have led to personal information being released. In fact, according to our friend at Wallet Hub, between January 1, 2005, and May 31, 2020, there have been 11,762 breaches which accounts for over 1.6 billion records compromised.

So, Wallet Hub decided to do some digging and find out which states were the most vulnerable to identity theft/fraud. Minnesota ranked right in the middle at 25.

Of course, each year brings a new scam or a new strategy. In 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic, a new strategy formed around a scam of stimulus checks.

 "Each new year brings new strategies taken by identity thieves and fraudsters. For example, this year, there has been a lot of identity theft and scamming related to federal stimulus payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plenty of other schemes, such as tech support scams and fake IRS calls, also abound."

Minnesota was ranked 25th when all was said and done. The state was 31st in Identity Theft Rank, 6th in Fraud Rank, and 16th in Policy Rank, according to Wallet Hub's study. Flordia was ranked #1, South Carolina ranked #2 and Deleware ranked #3.

Iowa and South Dakota were the only neighbors to Minnesota to be ranked higher. Iowa came in at #20, South Dakota #24, Wisconsin at #34, North Dakota at #40.

Some of the main tips to avoid identity theft and fraud include enchanting and emphasizing email security, leveraging credit reports, and signing up for credit monitoring.