New Jersey Among Top States For Online Identity Theft And Fraud

It happened to my husband. Someone stole his identity. They walked into the bank with fake documents, including a counterfeit ID they made of him, and withdrew money right from our account.

Thankfully, we were able to recover the funds, but getting everything else sorted out was an absolute nightmare.

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Even if you're extremely careful, shredding all important documents and guarding your social security number carefully, things can still happen.

WalletHub has released its list of the states most vulnerable to identity theft and fraud. So where did New Jersey land?

Unfortunately, here in the Garden State, we're ranked among the most at-risk, which is pretty scary!

States With the Most Identity Theft & Fraud

Read More: How New Jersey Stacks Up In WalletHub’s Best Cities For Singles Report

According to the report, New Jersey ranks 4th, and we rank the highest in the country for the average loss amount from online identity theft.

The most vulnerable state is Florida, followed by California and Georgia, and the least vulnerable state is Vermont.

The big question is, how do you protect yourself so your identity doesn't get stolen?

How to Avoid Identity Theft

WalletHub's quick tips include:

Email Security - It's important to double-check and update not only your password, but your username, too.

Sign up for Credit Monitoring - Check your credit report. 

Leverage Account Alerts & Update Contact Info - Keep your information up to date.

Use Common Sense Online - Don't click on anything that looks suspicious.

You can read the full report here.