New Research Shows Where Identity Fraud is Most Rapidly Increasing

The results of new analytical research on U.S. identity fraud by geography have been announced by ID Analytics. The research, which is based on actual and attempted frauds rather than on consumer victim reports, examined data from January through December 2006 to determine where identity fraud is most rapidly increasing.

When examined at the five-digit ZIP Code level, the U.S. identity fraud "hot spots" where criminal activity is rising the fastest include the cities of Springfield, Illinois; Bozeman, Montana and Missoula, Montana. The U.S. counties that emerged as hot spots in the last year, based on analysis at the three-digit ZIP Code level, include 13 counties in North Dakota and seven counties in Montana. The research also showed that in general identity fraud rates are increasing in the upper Midwest, Northern California, Utah, Nevada and Maine. Identity fraud rates appear to be decreasing in the Southern U.S. and staying consistent in such areas as Southern California, the Mexican border of Texas and in cities like Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon.

"These findings may seem surprising because none of these emerging hot spots are high population density areas, and some are even rural," said Stephen Coggeshall, ID Analytics' chief technology officer and the author of the research. "Our methodology allowed us to compare fraud rates across areas with differing populations to see where fraud is rising most quickly on a per capita basis. While identity fraud rates remain high in many large metropolitan areas like New York, Los Angeles and Detroit, we are seeing substantial emergence of these crimes in more rural areas like Montana and South Dakota. This may indicate a trend toward popularization of this crime, as well as point out that perpetrators are discovering that they can act under the radar in these remote rural areas."

By analyzing data ID Analytics is able to gain a quantitative understanding of the nature of identity fraud. The ID Network comprises three billion identity elements -- including names, addresses, Social Security numbers and phone numbers -- which are contributed in real-time, by organizations spanning multiple industries, for the sole purpose of preventing identity fraud.

The ten cities and their respective ZIP Codes where identity fraud increased most rapidly during 2006 are:

• Springfield, IL (62707)
• Bozeman, MT (59715 and 59718)
• Missoula, MT (59804, 59803 and 59808)
• Whitefish, MT (59937)
• Lolo, MT (59847)
• Bismarck, ND (58504)
• Hamilton, MT (59840)
• Bigfork, MT (59911)
• Grand Forks, ND (58201)
• Fargo, ND (58104)

The counties that most strongly emerged as identity fraud hot spots in the last year are:

• Divide, McKenzie and Williams counties, ND (588XX ZIP)
• Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, McKenzie, Morton, Slope and   Stark counties, ND (586XX ZIP)
• Granite, Lake, Missoula, Mineral, Powell, Ravalli and Sanders counties, MT (598XX ZIP)