The Federal Trade Commission has released its 2023 databook on fraud in the U.S., which details how many cases of fraud are happening in various parts of the country.
In Florida, the greatest number of fraud cases was in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metro area, which saw over 108,000 reports of fraud.
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In Central Florida, the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area — which covers Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties — saw 42,170 cases, the largest number in the region. In total, it made up nearly 13% of all fraud reports statewide.
[CLICK IN THE MAP BELOW TO SEE HOW MANY FRAUD CASES WERE REPORTED IN EACH METRO AREA]
But while those two metros have a large number of reports, the metro with the greatest rate of fraud cases was actually in Sebastian-Vero Beach.
Statewide, the greatest number of fraud cases consisted of imposter scams, though online shopping and negative review scams were close behind.
From most to least, the Florida metro areas with the greatest fraud issues were as follows:
| Rank | Metro Area | Counties | Reports Per 100K People | Total Reports | % of Statewide Cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian-Vero Beach | Indian River | 2,268 | 3,583 | 1.10% |
| 2 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach | Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach | 1,775 | 108,394 | 33.33% |
| 3 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas | 1,623 | 51,074 | 15.70% |
| 4 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville | Brevard | 1,607 | 9,667 | 2.97% |
| 5 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford | Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole | 1,602 | 42,170 | 12.97% |
| 6 | North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton | Manatee, Sarasota | 1,555 | 12,812 | 3.94% |
| 7 | Lakeland-Winter Haven | Polk | 1,546 | 11,027 | 3.39% |
| 8 | Jacksonville | Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, St. Johns | 1,535 | 24,286 | 7.47% |
| 9 | Homosassa Springs | Citrus | 1,452 | 2,205 | 0.68% |
| 10 | Ocala | Marion | 1,440 | 5,332 | 1.64% |
| 11 | Punta Gorda | Charlotte | 1,427 | 2,637 | 0.81% |
| 12 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach | Flagler, Volusia | 1,423 | 9,432 | 2.90% |
| 13 | Port St. Lucie | Martin, St. Lucie | 1,417 | 6,843 | 2.10% |
| 14 | Tallahassee | Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Wakulla | 1,302 | 4,983 | 1.53% |
| 15 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers | Lee | 1,215 | 9,143 | 2.81% |
| 16 | Gainesville | Alachua, Gilchrist, Levy | 1,198 | 4,029 | 1.24% |
| 17 | Sebring-Avon Park | Highlands | 1,188 | 1,202 | 0.37% |
| 18 | Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent | Escambia, Santa Rosa | 1,170 | 5,889 | 1.81% |
| 19 | The Villages | Sumter | 1,164 | 1,482 | 0.46% |
| 20 | Panama City | Bay | 1,149 | 2,084 | 0.64% |
| 21 | Naples-Marco Island | Collier | 1,103 | 4,112 | 1.26% |
| 22 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin | Okaloosa, Walton | 1,006 | 2,844 | 0.87% |
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