The summertime is synonymous with the travel season. Before departing for their destination, tourists frequently assess a variety of health and physical safety precautions; however, only a few consider their online safety.
In 2021, around 500,000 Americans were victims of cybercrime and lost an excess of $6 billion, but how does that look on a state-by-state basis?
The Atlas VPN research team has created a list of the most dangerous and secure US travel destinations in terms of cybercrime.
The safety of each US state was ranked according to its cybercrime index.
To calculate the cybercrime index, Atlas VPN first worked out each state's victim count per 100,000 population. For the second measure, Atlas VPN calculated each victim’s average losses.
To determine the final ranking, each measure was normalized on a 0-1 scale, with 1 corresponding to the measure that would most negatively impact the final score. These measurements were then summed up and converted to a score scale of 100.
The initial cybercrime victim and cybercrime loss numbers for each state were based on Federal Bureau of Investigation 2021 statistics. Atlas VPN also included each state's ranking according to its popularity as a travel destination.
Top 10 list of the most cybercrime-ridden states:
The calculations reveal that North Dakota and Nevada are by far the most dangerous states in terms of online safety. Both states have unique cybercrime profiles and a cybercrime index of over 57.
North Dakota is distinctive because even though there were only 87 victims per 100k population, the losses per victim stood at $31,711, which is the highest in all of America.
While victims in Nevada lost an average of $4,728 per scam, it was also the state with the highest number of victims per 100k population. The Battle Born State is also the third most common travel destination in the US.
The Golden State is also at the top of the list, with 169 victims per 100k citizens and losses at $18,302. Unsurprisingly, California ranks as the most popular travel destination.
New York is the 5th most visited state and, at the same time, 4th in terms of cybercrime severity. New Yorkers lost around $19,266 for each internet fraud case, with 151 individuals out of 100,000 encountering this misfortune.
The District of Columbia also makes the top 5 list, mainly due to the high number of victims per 100k population.
