Financial Education Benefits Center: The Best and Worst States for Identity Theft and Fraud

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Nov 15, 2018, 08:00 ET

SAN RAMON, Calif., Nov. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer data breaches are nothing new. In 2018, alone, cybercriminals compromised the information of customers at Sears, Macy's, Kmart, Delta and Best Buy. There have been thousands of security breaches and more than one billion records have been compromised since 2015. A recent study by Wallet Hub found that consumers in some states were more susceptible to cybercriminals. Nevada ranked as the least-secure state in the nation, followed by Florida, New Jersey, Delaware and California. On the other hand, Hawaii, South Dakota, Vermont, Iowa and Maine were ranked as the safest states to conduct online business. Financial Education Benefits Center (FEBC), a membership benefits company that offers an identity theft protection benefit, understands the need for its clients to feel their information is safe as they make purchases and share sensitive information online.

"Unfortunately, identity thieves don't need much information to create chaos in someone's finances," said Jennifer Martinez, manager at FEBC. "We can't stop them from trying to get to your information, but with our identity theft protection benefits, it will hopefully be much more difficult for it to negatively impact your life."

Nevada earned its most-insecure ranking by being both the second-worst state for identity theft and the fifth-worst-ranked state in terms of fraud. Researchers tabulated the identity theft rankings by adding up total cyber-thefts per capita and average loss due to identity theft. New Jersey, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio and Illinois rounded out the "worst five" for identity theft. Researchers determined fraud rankings by adding up fraud complaints per capita, median loss due to fraud, fraud arrests per capita and e-commerce attack rates. Delaware, Florida, Washington, D.C., and Oregon joined Nevada to make up the five most fraudulent states.

Hawaii is the fourth-safest state in the nation for identity theft and second-safest for fraud. South Dakota, Vermont, Maine and Indiana join Hawaii to round out the top five for identity theft. Nebraska reports the least amount of fraud, followed by Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Experts suggest that identity protection can be enhanced by shredding paperwork containing sensitive information, using secure internet connections while transmitting personal information and using strong passwords on websites. In addition to these steps, FEBC members may access identity theft services provided by LifeLock through their membership portal. LifeLock is a leader in identity theft protection and works to keep personal information secure and provides early theft protection and remediation services.

"Identity theft can cause a tremendous amount of damage to a person's finances, and cost them undue hardship in terms of both money and time," said Martinez. "FEBC is proud to offer discounts to services such as LifeLock that can ensure financial wellness."

About Financial Education Benefits Center

Financial Education Benefits Center is located in San Ramon, California. The membership company has already helped thousands save money and obtain the necessary education required to live a financially healthy life.

Financial Education Benefits Center has partnered with several name brand third-party companies to expand the financial and educational products and services available to its members and to provide a variety of wellness services, as well.

Financial Education Benefits Center Newsroom

Contact

To learn more about Financial Education Benefits Center, please contact:

Financial Education Benefits Center
2010 Crow Canyon Place Ste. 100
San Ramon, CA 94583
1-800-953-1388
[email protected]

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SOURCE Financial Education Benefits Center