States scammed out of the most money
Maybe it was the idea of getting rich in a brand-new investment scheme that got you; maybe it was hearing that your grandson was stuck in jail and needed $2,000 wired to him. (Spoiler alert: It wasn’t not really your grandson.) Whatever scam fooled you into opening up your wallet, you’re not alone: The Federal Trade Commission received 2.7 million reports of scams, frauds and identity theft in 2017 alone.
The worst part of falling victim to this kind of crime? In addition to being embarrassing for their victims, scams can also be incredibly costly. In 2017, American consumers lost $905 million to fraud, identity theft and other scams. Though some groups are more susceptible to this kind of crime than others—young people between the ages of 20 and 29 reported losing money to fraud more often than older consumers—it has spread all across the country, from California to Maine. To find out which states were hit hardest by scams, Stacker gathered data on the amount of money that each state’s residents lost in 2017 using data from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Census Bureau, then ranked this list by states that reported the greatest monetary loss per 1,000 residents. Keep reading to find out which state lost a grand total of $89 million to scams and how residents of your state fared against fraudsters.
#52. Puerto Rico
Losses per 1,000 residents: $291
Reports per 1,000 residents: 0.4 (#52 highest in the country)
Total losses: $972,505
Total reports: 1,304
#51. Vermont
Losses per 1,000 residents: $740
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.6 (#36 highest in the country)
Total losses: $461,302
Total reports: 1,637
#50. Nebraska
Losses per 1,000 residents: $769
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.7 (#31 highest in the country)
Total losses: $1,477,280
Total reports: 5,103
#49. Maine
Losses per 1,000 residents: $882
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.6 (#38 highest in the country)
Total losses: $1,178,173
Total reports: 3,475
#48. New Hampshire
Losses per 1,000 residents: $937
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.9 (#23 highest in the country)
Total losses: $1,258,043
Total reports: 3,953
#47. Rhode Island
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,205
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.6 (#39 highest in the country)
Total losses: $1,276,753
Total reports: 2,731
#46. Montana
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,239
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.5 (#4 highest in the country)
Total losses: $1,301,517
Total reports: 3,687
#45. Idaho
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,253
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.1 (#14 highest in the country)
Total losses: $2,150,981
Total reports: 5,251
#44. Ohio
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,261
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.7 (#27 highest in the country)
Total losses: $14,698,221
Total reports: 32,050
#43. Oklahoma
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,265
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.5 (#45 highest in the country)
Total losses: $4,972,544
Total reports: 9,687
#42. North Dakota
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,281
Reports per 1,000 residents: 1.8 (#51 highest in the country)
Total losses: $967,570
Total reports: 1,390
#41. Wisconsin
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,317
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.7 (#33 highest in the country)
Total losses: $7,634,601
Total reports: 15,382
#40. Iowa
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,325
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.2 (#49 highest in the country)
Total losses: $4,169,575
Total reports: 6,984
#39. Kentucky
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,338
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.7 (#32 highest in the country)
Total losses: $5,959,371
Total reports: 11,827
#38. Wyoming
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,388
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.0 (#22 highest in the country)
Total losses: $803,853
Total reports: 1,712
#37. Indiana
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,398
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.7 (#29 highest in the country)
Total losses: $9,319,096
Total reports: 18,156
#36. Alabama
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,437
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.0 (#16 highest in the country)
Total losses: $7,005,503
Total reports: 14,756
#35. Alaska
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,519
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.0 (#21 highest in the country)
Total losses: $1,123,694
Total reports: 2,187
#34. New Mexico
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,524
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.1 (#10 highest in the country)
Total losses: $3,183,059
Total reports: 6,479
#33. Michigan
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,538
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.6 (#37 highest in the country)
Total losses: $15,322,302
Total reports: 26,094
#32. Mississippi
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,574
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.5 (#41 highest in the country)
Total losses: $4,696,572
Total reports: 7,601
#31. Massachusetts
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,598
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.6 (#34 highest in the country)
Total losses: $10,961,979
Total reports: 18,033
#30. Pennsylvania
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,617
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.7 (#28 highest in the country)
Total losses: $20,708,109
Total reports: 34,984
#29. Virginia
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,667
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.1 (#13 highest in the country)
Total losses: $14,115,290
Total reports: 26,052
#28. Missouri
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,708
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.1 (#11 highest in the country)
Total losses: $10,444,147
Total reports: 18,947
#27. Illinois
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,713
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.5 (#44 highest in the country)
Total losses: $21,933,752
Total reports: 31,685
#26. South Carolina
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,771
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.0 (#19 highest in the country)
Total losses: $8,895,987
Total reports: 14,959
#25. Arkansas
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,771
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.8 (#25 highest in the country)
Total losses: $5,319,578
Total reports: 8,515
#24. Georgia
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,782
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.8 (#26 highest in the country)
Total losses: $18,585,493
Total reports: 29,352
#23. North Carolina
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,787
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.0 (#20 highest in the country)
Total losses: $18,356,048
Total reports: 30,481
#22. Louisiana
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,802
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.4 (#47 highest in the country)
Total losses: $8,442,584
Total reports: 11,443
#21. Minnesota
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,815
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.6 (#35 highest in the country)
Total losses: $10,119,466
Total reports: 14,657
#20. Delaware
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,827
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.4 (#6 highest in the country)
Total losses: $1,757,570
Total reports: 3,283
#19. Colorado
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,841
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.1 (#9 highest in the country)
Total losses: $10,320,817
Total reports: 17,551
#18. Connecticut
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,860
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.7 (#30 highest in the country)
Total losses: $6,672,807
Total reports: 9,577
#17. New Jersey
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,864
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.5 (#42 highest in the country)
Total losses: $16,787,764
Total reports: 22,603
#16. Utah
Losses per 1,000 residents: $1,956
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.5 (#43 highest in the country)
Total losses: $6,068,447
Total reports: 7,681
#15. New York
Losses per 1,000 residents: $2,024
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.5 (#40 highest in the country)
Total losses: $40,166,605
Total reports: 50,602
#14. Texas
Losses per 1,000 residents: $2,036
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.4 (#48 highest in the country)
Total losses: $57,626,803
Total reports: 68,641
#13. Tennessee
Losses per 1,000 residents: $2,042
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.0 (#18 highest in the country)
Total losses: $13,715,621
Total reports: 19,996
#12. Maryland
Losses per 1,000 residents: $2,044
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.0 (#15 highest in the country)
Total losses: $12,370,283
Total reports: 18,347
#11. Hawaii
Losses per 1,000 residents: $2,054
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.9 (#24 highest in the country)
Total losses: $2,932,199
Total reports: 4,098
#10. Kansas
Losses per 1,000 residents: $2,139
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.0 (#17 highest in the country)
Total losses: $6,231,928
Total reports: 8,687
#9. South Dakota
Losses per 1,000 residents: $2,200
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.0 (#50 highest in the country)
Total losses: $1,913,100
Total reports: 1,754
#8. California
Losses per 1,000 residents: $2,275
Reports per 1,000 residents: 2.5 (#46 highest in the country)
Total losses: $89,928,878
Total reports: 97,228
#7. Oregon
Losses per 1,000 residents: $2,407
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.2 (#7 highest in the country)
Total losses: $9,970,135
Total reports: 13,351
#6. Washington
Losses per 1,000 residents: $2,415
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.1 (#12 highest in the country)
Total losses: $17,883,315
Total reports: 22,939
#5. Nevada
Losses per 1,000 residents: $2,553
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.6 (#3 highest in the country)
Total losses: $7,653,255
Total reports: 10,707
#4. Florida
Losses per 1,000 residents: $2,607
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.2 (#8 highest in the country)
Total losses: $54,695,859
Total reports: 66,175
#3. Arizona
Losses per 1,000 residents: $2,749
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.5 (#5 highest in the country)
Total losses: $19,284,844
Total reports: 24,287
#2. West Virginia
Losses per 1,000 residents: $3,186
Reports per 1,000 residents: 3.6 (#2 highest in the country)
Total losses: $5,785,258
Total reports: 6,586
#1. District of Columbia
Losses per 1,000 residents: $3,562
Reports per 1,000 residents: 4.2 (#1 highest in the country)
Total losses: $2,472,017
Total reports: 2,902
