The USA's
credit card
fraud hotspots
Fraud is happening all over the States. Every time we shop online, save our details, post on social media or click on a link, we’re sharing our personal information in a way that criminals can see. And if those criminals are smart enough, that’s information they can exploit.
We studied fraud between Jan 2020 - May 2021 to find out where fraudsters were most active. To discover the worst-hit areas, you can explore ourinteractive map below orscroll downto learn more about our research.
View the mapThe worst cities for credit card fraud
We’ve analyzed fraud data from across the country to figure out which city suffers most from credit card crime. Cities with higher populations and bigger businesses are often most at risk, but that doesn’t mean you’re totally safe in the quieter areas.
You can click the expand icon in the bottom left hand corner of each box to read more about each city.
(Data range: Jan 2020 - May 2021)
Los Angeles
California
Credit card fraud
$629,850.80
Los Angeles loses more to credit card fraud than any other city
The Hollywood stars aren’t the only ones raking in the cash in LA, with credit card crooks taking home $629,850 through fraudulent activities. America’s second largest city is famous for its iconic sign and global entertainment powerhouses, but with all that wealth comes opportunity for people who want to earn it the easy way.
This makes up 9.14% of all credit card fraud in California, with the state’s total losses amounting to $6.8 million in total.
Las Vegas
Nevada
$564,462.87
Las Vegas sees over half a million lost on credit cards
Las Vegas is famed for its casinos, although it isn’t only chips you risk losing your money on in the Nevadan city. Credit card owners there lose out on $564,462 to fraud, with criminals making the most of people’s relaxed inhibitions to strike.
Las Vegas suffers the highest percentage of credit card fraud of all of our top 10 locations, making up 56.87% of all fraud crimes in the state.
Houston
Texas
$495,924.15
Houston’s credit cards are conned out of $495,924
In Texas, credit card crime is rife, with Houston residents seeing $495,924 taken from their accounts. The city is known for its country music and BBQ feasts, but fraud is certainly leaving a bad taste in the mouth, costing the state as a whole $4.9 million.
9.94% of all fraud in Texas happens in Houston, making it a profitable hunting ground for cyber-savvy crooks.
Chicago
Illinois
$493,379.08
Chicago loses $493,379 to credit card fraud
Chicago is one of the USA’s largest cities, and also one of its biggest victims of credit card fraud. Residents have lost $493,379 to crime so far, making up 12.12% of all the state of Illinois’ fraud cost.
One of the country’s most profitable business districts, Chicago has plenty of reasons for people to flock there to make their fortune. Sadly, not all of them are in it for the right reasons, with $4.07 million disappearing state-wide.
Miami
Florida
$476,659.08
The sun shines on fraudsters in Miami, who take home $476,659
In the sun-soaked city of Miami, credit card criminals are basking in more than just the heat. They’re the fifth most profitable fraudsters in the country, taking home $476,659 from their illegal maneuvers. The seventh most populous city in the whole country, there are almost half a million people living there, offering plenty of opportunities for criminals to take what isn’t theirs.
Florida loses over $4 million as a state to fraud, with 11.91% getting stolen from credit cards in Miami.
Killeen
Texas
$465,785.12
Killeen sees credit card crime take $465,785
Killeen might not be one of the biggest cities in our survey, but it loses a big amount of cash. The Texas city has a population of around 127,921, but between them they lose $465,785. Throughout the state, 9.33% of all fraud is done on Killeen credit cards, with Texans losing $4.9 million to credit card crime in total.
Bloomington
Illinois
$448,996.50
Bloomington in Illinois loses $448,996 to credit card fraud
You might not have heard of Bloomington unless you’re local, but credit card criminals certainly have. Fraud in the city - the former home of Abraham Lincoln’s mentor, David Davis - costs card users $448,996, a considerable sum for this suburban dwelling.
Bloomington’s credit card fraud makes up 11.03% of all Illinois fraud losses, meaning the small city makes a big negative impact on the local economy.
Springfield
Illinois
$428,313.36
Springfield, Illinois sees fraudsters take $428,313
A famous name for yellow reasons, credit card crime in Springfield leaves residents feeling blue. Fraudsters in the city cost people $428,313, making it the 8th most affected city in the entire country. The former home of Abraham Lincoln sits by Springfield, but this historical city is facing a modern day crisis, making up 10.52% of the state’s $4.07 million fraud losses.
Reno
Nevada
$428,092.02
Reno makes up 43.13% of all Nevada’s fraud losses
Reno is known as the biggest little city in the world, and it sure makes a big impact on Nevada’s fraud reports. While the city comes in 9th place in our rankings, its credit card fraud losses of $428,092 account for almost half of the state’s overall problem, with Las Vegas making up the rest.
Companies such as Amazon, Tesla and Apple have set up shop in the city’s borders, offering ample incentive for criminals to try and trick their way into people’s funds.
Dallas
Texas
$408,931.93
Dallas is the 10th most popular city for credit card crime
Sadly, this one isn’t all a dream. Dallas loses $408,931 to credit card criminals, making it the 10th biggest victim to card fraud in the country. The city is the cultural and commercial hub of the state of Texas, with a sprawling metropolis offering opportunities for businesses, tourists and fraudsters.
This is only 8.19% of the state's fraud losses, with Texas losing out on a huge £4.9 million in total.
South Dakota is the safest state for your credit card
Fraud isn’t as active everywhere. In South Dakota, for example, only $16,498 has been stolen from credit cards, paling in comparison to the millions lost elsewhere. Vermont is also faring well, only seeing $24,079 fall into the hands of fraudsters, while Wyoming isn’t much worse with $28,884.
(Data range: Jan 2020 - May 2021)
Types of fraud on a global scale: the countries worst affected by fraud
Fraud isn’t just a problem in the USA. Criminals are profiting from tricks and scams across the world, with some countries faring worse than others when it comes to keeping their finances safe.
The table is ranked by reports of credit card fraud, where 1 represents the highest number of incidents, and 35 the fewest. You can toggle by report type to re-order these based on the category you've selected.
(Data range: Jan 2020 - May 2021)
Country | Reports of credit card fraud | Reports of app fraud | Reports of crypto fraud | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  USA | 363,183 | 144,168 | 108,126 |
| 2 |  Canada | 9,645 | 3,829 | 2,871 |
| 3 |  UK | 4,055 | 1,610 | 1,207 |
| 4 |  India | 3,700 | 1,469 | 1,101 |
| 5 |  France | 3,531 | 1,402 | 1,051 |
| 6 |  Germany | 3,363 | 1,335 | 1,001 |
| 7 |  Australia | 1,867 | 741 | 556 |
| 8 |  Spain | 1,480 | 588 | 441 |
| 9 |  Mexico | 1,184 | 470 | 352 |
| 10 |  Philippines | 796 | 316 | 237 |
US fraud over the last 20 years
The last two decades have seen an influx in new technology, which has only made fraud easier. There were over 15 times more cases of fraud committed in 2020 than in 2001, while identity theft was up by 622%.
How Covid-19 increased credit card fraud
While the Covid-19 pandemic might have slowed most of us down, it didn’t stop criminals from keeping up their pace. July 2020 was the peak month for credit card fraud concerns, with 174 articles for the issue striking at the heart of a summer spent indoors.
In a colder time of year, November saw fraud in general reach its peak. There were 39,768 articles published during this month with the presidential elections taking place at the beginning of November, with much speculation around electoral fraud in the fallout.
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safe and secure
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Once fraudulent activity has been noticed, your credit card will be frozen or cancelled to stop the criminals accessing any more money.
Thorough investigation
Your credit card provider will investigate any fraud cases below $2,000, while amounts higher will be handled by the police. This should discover where the fraud happened and help you stay safer in the future.
Methodology
To discover the amount of money lost to credit card fraud in the US states and cities we collected 2020 data from the Federal Trade Commission.*We found out the average amount of money lost to credit card fraud for each location which we then multiplied by the number of credit card fraud reports in the past year to discover how much each city and state has been defrauded. The same data source was used to discover the number of credit card fraud for countries across the world as well as crypto and app fraud.
The increase of fraud during covid was discovered by analysing articles on Buzzsumo over the past 12 months from January 2020 - May 2021 to find out how many articles were published with the keywords ‘fraud’ and ‘credit card fraud’.
*State MSA fraud and other data
*By country