WalletHub released its report on 2019’s States Most Vulnerable to Identity Theft & Fraud.
Texas’ Vulnerability to Identity Theft & Fraud (1=Most Vulnerable; 25=Avg.)
- 1st – Identity-Theft Complaints per Capita
- 1st – Identity-Theft Passport Program
- 5th – Compliance with REAL ID Act
- 6th – Median Loss Amount Due to Fraud
- 9th – Fraud & Other Complaints per Capita
- 13th – Avg. Loss Amount Due to Online Identity Theft
- 18th – State Security-Freeze Laws for Minors’ Credit Reports
"There is no such thing as the Identity-Theft Passport Program in Texas. That's a program that helps victims of identity theft reclaim their identity," said Wallet Hub's Jill Gonzalez. "Texas also, as of now, does not comply with the REAL ID Act. That's something that the Department of Homeland Security put in place to establish minimum security standards for things like license issuance, and production, and prohibits a lot of agencies from accepting certain other types of drivers licenses."
That will start October 2020.
"I think a lot of this has to do with the policy behind a lot of identity theft and fraud prevention, which just doesn't exist in Texas right now," said Gonzalez.
She said Texas businesses and government could try to get a better handle on data disposal--collecting and storing personal information.
She added one more thing Texas can look into is legislation allowing parents to put a freeze on minor's credit report so they don't have their identity stolen before they get to build credit.
WalletHub offers an Identity Theft Guide and free credit monitoring to help consumers handle or prevent the damaging effects of cybercrimes.