When It Comes To ID Theft, Where You Live MattersWhen It Comes To ID Theft, Where You Live Matters

Living in New York, Arizona, or California? You'd better be extra wary of identity thieves.

And think you're safe living in a small town like Faulkton, S.D.? Think again.

This is all according to the findings of ID Analytics, which on Wednesday released the results of its research into U.S. identity fraud by geographic location.

Who's got it the worst? The top four states are (in order) New York, California, Nevada, and Arizona. But don't feel too smug if you live in Illinois, Hawaii, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, or Texas because your states rounded out the top 10.

The safest states to live in, when it comes to identity theft anyway, are Wyoming, Vermont, Montana, North Dakota, and New Hampshire. Rounding out the 10 states with the lowest rates of identity fraud are Ohio, Maine, Iowa, West Virginia, and South Dakota.

"What's most meaningful about these findings is that they can help identify specific areas where identity criminals may be operating in an organized manner," says Stephen Coggeshall, ID Analytics' chief technology officer and the author of the research, in a written statement. "We've actually analyzed the data down to the 5-digit ZIP code level, which gives precise visibility into concentrations of identity fraud, which may indicate fraud rings or some other criminal activity."

And what about the ZIP codes with the most identity fraud?

Floral Park (Queens) in New York tops the list, but Faulkton, S.D., comes in second. Granted it's a distant second, but compared with an area the size of Queens, that's saying something for a town with fewer than 1,000 people. New York City ZIP codes make the top 20 five times, while Chicago is in there, along with Merlin, Ore.; Manhasset, N.Y.; Golden Valley, N.D.; and Rio Frio, Texas.

Coggeshall says the research analyzed data from the company's IT Network, which is an identity-fraud-prevention system. The study is based on actual and attempted frauds instead of on consumer victim reports.

"This new data from ID Analytics is in line with what we've heard from the victims themselves, and from law enforcement," said Jay Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center. "It's our hope that businesses will use this new research to further bolster their efforts in the fight against identity fraud, and that consumers living in these areas will be especially vigilant in protecting themselves."

It may be a lot more difficult for people to protect themselves with government agencies and major companies doing such a good job of losing their personal data lately. In recent months, the Department of Veterans Affairs lost a hard drive containing sensitive information on 535,000 veterans and 1.3 million doctors. Johns Hopkins also disclosed just last week that it has lost personal data on roughly 52,000 employees and 83,000 patients.