Washington ranks ninth in ID theft

There were nearly 800 fewer identity theft victims in Washington in 2006 over the year before, but the state still ranked No. 9 in the nation for the crime’s frequency, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

In 2006, there were 5,336 reported identity theft victims in Washington, equaling a rate of 83.4 people per 100,000 residents. Washington ranked seventh in 2005 with 5,810 victims and a rate of 92.4, according to FTC reports.

Idaho’s No. 38 ranking didn’t change from 2005 to 2006. Two years ago, 745 people reported being the victim of identity theft, amounting to a rate of 52.1 per 100,000. But in 2006, the number of reported victims dropped to 718 and a rate of 49 per 100,000 people, according to the FTC.

In the past few years, both states have followed a national trend of increasing identity theft. The crime is by far the most common form of fraud, with 246,035 identity theft complaints last year, the FTC says.

Washington was one of 11 states in 2006 with a rate higher than 80 victims per 100,000. Arizona topped the list with 147.8, though its 9,113 victims were dwarfed by California – ranked No. 3 with a rate of 113.5 – which had 41,396 victims.