Florida is America's #1 State for Fraud

Hey, pssst, I've got a plot of beachfront property in beautiful Hialeah to sell you for just $10K. Yeah, I'm just gonna need your social and bank account info, and it's as good as yours.Yes, to no one's surprise 247WallSt.com has ranked our sunny state of Florida number one in...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

April 12, 2012

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Hey, pssst, I've got a plot of beachfront property in beautiful Hialeah to sell you for just $10K. Yeah, I'm just gonna need your social and bank account info, and it's as good as yours.

Yes, to no one's surprise 247WallSt.com has ranked our sunny state of Florida number one in the shady arena of fraud.

We beat out Colorado, Delaware, Maryland and Nevada for the title. Here's the numeric breakdown:

1. Florida

> Complaints per 100,000 population: 694

> Total complaints: 130,449

> Identity theft complaints per 100,000: 178.7 (the most)

> Recession home value decline: 44.8% (4th largest)

> Homes late on payment or in foreclosure: 17.4% (the most)

Yes, Florida leads the country in the highest rate of identity theft complaints, but guess what part of Florida leads in the category?

The Miami metro area! There were 324.1 complaints of identity theft per 100,000 residents in 2011. That's also the highest rate in the country, and more than double the rate of the second highest metro area rate.

We all know in Miami to keep our enemies close, but keep your identity information closer.

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