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Georgia Ranks 2nd for Identity Theft Reports

March 15th, 2012

Last year, Georgia ranked second for residents filing identity theft complaints. The state trails behind Florida when it comes to people reporting the theft of names, addresses and social security numbers.

There were more than 11,000 complaints filed last year, according to a recent report by the Federal Trade Commission. Using other people’s identity for government benefits was the most common type of fraud, followed by credit card fraud and then bank fraud.

Terry Sosebee with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation says it’s not clear why rates are higher here. But Georgia’s approach might lead to more people filing reports.

“Georgia was one of the first three states in the country to have an identity crime statute,” he says.

Local officials also encourage people to report identity theft to nearby law enforcement agencies and to the FTC.

Sosebee says perpetrators could be anywhere.

“The suspect that did the crime may be on the other side of the world or they may be across the street from you,” he says. “But you don’t know because a lot of it is done electronically.”

To better protect yourself, he recommends regularly checking bank statements and credit card bills, avoiding suspicious emails and shredding important documents.