Safest and Least Safe US Cities by Fraud and Scam of March 2024

ElitePersonalFinance
Last Update: September 25, 2023 Fraud Identity Theft Living Scams
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Residents in some cities are more vulnerable to identity theft, according to a review of federal data by ElitePersonalFinance. There were almost 2.7 million complaints in the US, according to the data from the Federal Trade Commission Report.

US consumers paid $905 million in fraud losses, while the average sum paid was $429.

Key Findings

  • The safest city in Arecibo, PR. Their safety score is 0.55, and they reported 101 total fraud. It is followed by San German, PR, and Aguadilla-Isabela, PR, with 0.56 and 0.57 reports per 1,000 people.
  • Homosassa Springs, FL, is the least safe city, with 11.56 reports per 1,000 people and 1,660 total complaints. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA and Ocala, FL follow closely with respective scores of 9.27 and 8.27.
  • Homosassa Springs’ number of complaints per 1,000 people is almost 22 times higher than Arecibo, PR.
  • Homosassa Springs scored worse than the safest 9 cities combined.
  • More populated cities are less safe than those with a smaller population.

You wouldn’t be wrong if you said that identity theft and fraud are more prevalent in urban areas. In fact, you can check our post on Safest US Cities by Identity Theft, which clearly confirms this point, especially if you compare the results with those that we provided for the Safest US States.

This is another post in the series of posts by ElitePersonalFinance in which we analyzed safety levels across the country. This time, we picked fraud in cities as our category.

Ranking Criteria

The data was collected from the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network to assess cities’ fraud levels across the US.

The next step was to analyze the data and calculate the number of fraud complaints per 1,000 residents. Thus, the city with the ‘lowest score’ is the best in terms of fraud safety. To explain further, Arecibo, PR, scored 0.55. In other words, there were 0.55 fraud complaints per 1,000 residents in this city.

On the other hand, as the least safe city, Homosassa Springs scored 12, which means 12 complaints per 1,000 people in this city.

*Please note that not all the victims reported identity theft.

* *For more precise statistics, we analyzed metropolitan areas. Most of them have at least 100,000 residents, while a small number have 50,000 – 100,000.

100 Safest Cities in the US by Fraud of March 2024

Rank:Metropolitan Area:Total Number of Fraud Reports:Fraud Score:
1Arecibo, PR Metropolitan Statistical Area1010.55
2San Germán, PR Metropolitan Statistical Area720.56
3Aguadilla-Isabela, PR Metropolitan Statistical Area1750.57
4Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area1,0550.61
5Ponce, PR Metropolitan Statistical Area1880.61
6San Juan-Carolina-Caguas, PR Metropolitan Statistical Area1,6350.76
7Staunton-Waynesboro, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area1711.41
8Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical Area1791.73
9El Centro, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area3471.92
10McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area1,6931.99
11Harrisonburg, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area2922.2
12Roanoke, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area7102.26
13Visalia-Porterville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area1,1042.40
14Holland, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area2842.46
15Merced, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area6672.48
16Laredo, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area6812.51
17Madera, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area3952.55
18Bismarck, ND Metropolitan Statistical Area3472.64
19Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area4522.66
20Yuma, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area5542.69
21Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area2852.77
22Lynchburg, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area7232.78
23Provo-Orem, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area1,6942.81
24Yakima, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area7052.82
25Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metropolitan Statistical Area4812.84
26Fargo, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area6782.85
27Brownsville-Harlingen, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area1,2142.88
28Sheboygan, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area3342.89
29Iowa City, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area4932.92
30Logan, UT-ID Metropolitan Statistical Area4002.94
31Hanford-Corcoran, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area4432.96
32Farmington, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area3432.98
33Ogdensburg-Massena, NY Micropolitan Statistical Area3333.03
34Odessa, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area4793.04
35St. Cloud, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area5953.04
36College Station-Bryan, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area7813.06
37State College, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area4943.06
38Ottawa-Peru, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area4613.08
39Goldsboro, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area3883.13
40Gettysburg, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area3233.16
41Kennewick-Richland, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area8973.16
42Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area5833.19
43Lancaster, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area1,7273.21
44Flagstaff, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area4543.22
45London, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area4163.25
46Rochester, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area7013.25
47Kankakee, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area3593.26
48Morristown, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area3823.26
49Elkhart-Goshen, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area6683.28
50Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area1,2573.29
51Bloomington, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area6243.31
52Wenatchee, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area3913.32
53Cedar Rapids, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area8943.34
54Lebanon, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area4653.35
55Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area7283.36
56Sioux Falls, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area8633.37
57Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan Statistical Area7333.37
58Augusta-Waterville, ME Micropolitan Statistical Area4093.39
59Longview, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area3593.41
60Jamestown-Dunkirk-Fredonia, NY Micropolitan Statistical Area4423.41
61Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area9363.41
62Fond du Lac, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area3493.42
63Richmond-Berea, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area3653.43
64Jackson, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area5453.44
65Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area1,5453.46
66Green Bay, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area1,1113.49
67St. George, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area5613.50
68Lewiston-Auburn, ME Metropolitan Statistical Area3783.52
69Fairbanks, AK Metropolitan Statistical Area3553.53
70Winchester, VA-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area4773.53
71Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI Micropolitan Statistical Area3663.55
72La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area4863.55
73Modesto, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area1,9223.55
74Wooster, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area4133.55
75Champaign-Urbana, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area8503.56
76Chambersburg-Waynesboro, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area5493.57
77St. Joseph, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area4533.58
78Decatur, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area5473.59
79Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area2,2773.59
80Appleton, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area8423.60
81Williamsport, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area4173.62
82Lima, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area3773.63
83Houma-Thibodaux, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area7763.67
84Fresno, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area3,6083.68
85Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area5393.68
86Ogden-Clearfield, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area2,4053.68
87Utica-Rome, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area1,0943.72
88Mankato-North Mankato, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area3723.72
89Show Low, AZ Micropolitan Statistical Area4103.73
90Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area5733.73
91Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI Metropolitan Statistical Area6213.75
92Traverse City, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area5573.75
93Morgantown, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area5213.76
94San Angelo, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area4513.76
95Lincoln, NE Metropolitan Statistical Area1,2283.76
96Muncie, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area4383.79
97Salinas, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area1,6483.79
98Salem, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area3943.80
99Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area1,4293.80
100Grand Junction, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area5703.80

50 Least Safe Cities in the US by Fraud of March 2024

Rank:Metropolitan Area:Total Number of Fraud Reports:Fraud Score:
1Homosassa Springs, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area1,66011.56
2Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area53,6809.27
3Ocala, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area2,8858.27
4Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area24,9728.24
5Gainesville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area2,2658.07
6Montgomery, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area2,9357.85
7Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area5,6397.81
8Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area55,9387.73
9Prescott, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area1,7377.70
10Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area32,0527.46
11Santa Fe, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area1,1077.45
12Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area45,0517.43
13Jacksonville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area10,8897.37
14Macon-Bibb County, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area1,6107.02
15Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area4,4376.96
16Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area16,6666.74
17Punta Gorda, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area1,1896.66
18Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Statistical Area8,8656.60
19Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area14,1596.57
20Columbia, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area5,3676.57
21Mobile, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area2,7226.56
22Waco, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area1,7356.54
23Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area3,5986.46
24Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area15,6556.41
25Wichita Falls, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area9646.40
26Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area4,2416.37
27Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area2,8596.36
28Columbus, GA-AL Metropolitan Statistical Area1,9476.31
29Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area14,3066.23
30Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area3,6066.23
31Huntsville, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area2,7726.16
32Brunswick, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area7196.16
33Killeen-Temple, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area2,6826.15
34Texarkana, TX-AR Metropolitan Statistical Area9216.14
35Dover, DE Metropolitan Statistical Area1,0646.09
36Savannah, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area2,3276.06
37Chattanooga, TN-GA Metropolitan Statistical Area3,3266.03
38Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area6916.03
39Fayetteville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area2,2936.03
40Port St. Lucie, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area2,7936.00
41Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area3,5495.97
42Charleston-North Charleston, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area4,5345.96
43Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area6,7895.92
44Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area27,4585.89
45Asheville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area2,6625.89
46Missoula, MT Metropolitan Statistical Area6795.85
47Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area8835.83
48Cleveland-Elyria, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area11,9335.81
49Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area1,2565.76
50Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area1,1685.69

How Safe is Your City?

In case of any concerns about fraud issues in your city, you can share them in the comments below. Likewise, if you are satisfied with safety levels, please feel free to comment on that.

Sources

FTC.gov – Consumer Sentinel Network

Census – Annual Estimates of the Resident Population

Do you want to prevent identity theft? We can help.

100 Tips to Prevent Identity Theft

Our Identity Theft Blog

Identity Theft SafeGuard – The complete identity theft guide!

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