As the state's most populous Union, California is a great target for identity thieves. 17.1% of the nearly 256,000 identity theft complaints made to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2007 were from Californians. This is the total related identity theft complaints of any state and second only to Arizona in complaints per hundred thousand inhabitants.
We have compiled a list of identity theft list of facts, trends and resources for Californians. If you know of other resources have additional information to add or simply want to give us feedback, leave please comment below.
Identity Theft California Facts and Trends:
- California has the second highest rate of identity theft complaints in the country with complaints related flight identity 120.1 per hundred thousand inhabitants, or a total of 43.892 complaints related to identity theft, reported in 2007. Arizona is first with 137.1 identity theft complaints per hundred thousand inhabitants.
- Of the 50 first cities with the highest rate of complaints related identity theft in 2007 fifteen were located in California. Five cities in California, Napa, Madera, Vallejo, Yuba City and Bakersfield, made the top 20 of the list.
- The related identity theft complaints rose by 30% over the last five years (2002-2007) in California.
- Identity theft the most common crime in California is the credit card fraud accounted for 23% of all identity theft-related crimes in California in 2007.
- the fastest growing crime identity theft related fraud in California is in employment, which is up 53% over the last five years (2002-2007). The most common form of employment fraud is a criminal using a stolen Social Security number to get a job in the United States.
California Identity protection against theft and recovery of resources:
The California state government provides a wealth of information through their different sites. Here are some of the best resources that we have found for Californians who are interested in learning more about how to protect their identities or victims seeking information on the next steps to be taken in the recovery of identity theft.
- California Office of Privacy Protection Identity Theft Website
- How to use identity theft to register in California
- California Attorney Tips identity theft victims
- California Department of motor Vehicles (DMV) identity theft protection and Recovery Guide
- identity theft Laws California PrivacyRights.org
national protection of identity theft and recovery of resources:
There are several excellent resources on identity theft protection and recovery available from the federal government and the national non-profit. NextAdvisor.com also created several useful guides for consumers looking for information on protection against identity theft.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Identity Theft website
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Identity Theft Victim online complaint form
- United States Postal Service (USPS) identity theft Tips and Resources
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) theft protection Guide active Duty military ID
- identity of children theft protection Guide NextAdvisor.com
- identity Guide protection against theft of service NextAdvisor. com