MACON, Ga. — In 2018, the Macon-Bibb metropolitan area had the nation's highest rate of identity theft reports.
That's according to a new report published by the Federal Trade Commission in February.
Like most millennials, Jenny Mazurkiewicz does some shopping online, which may be how someone stole her credit card number.
"I called my bank and was like, 'This is not me spending this money,'" says Mazurkiewicz.
A crook used her identity to make purchases at a Subway, a gas station, and a convenience store.
"They spent it in increments of like $20, so they were never spending too much and that I wouldn't get alerted that it was a large sum of money," says Mazurkiewicz.
Mazurkiewicz isn't alone.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2018 Georgia had the highest rate of identity thefts per 100,000 people.
If you take it a step further, the Macon-Bibb metro area (which includes Bibb, Jones, Twiggs, Crawford, and Monroe counties) was reportedly the city with the largest rate of identity crimes in the country, followed by Columbus, Atlanta, and Warner Robins.
At first glance, Macon-Bibb Financial Crimes Investigator Michael Parrott says he wasn't sold that Macon-Bibb has the highest rate of ID thefts in the country.
But Parrott calls identity theft and financial fraud one of the fastest-growing crimes nationwide because it's "easy to do."
"You can get information and commit a crime a thousand miles away from the suspect, and they might not be aware of it for 6 months," says Parrott.
Parrot says Georgia law makes it easy to prosecute financial crimes, which could be why such a large number are reported in our state.
"Identity fraud is one of the few crimes that we can prosecute where the crime occurs or where the victim resides," says Parrott.
Mazurkiewicz doesn't know who stole her information, and says, luckily, her bank restored her cash.
She says the experience has made her more cautious about how and where she swipes her card.
"It made me a little more wary about buying on certain websites or making sure it's a secure portal before I put my information on the internet," says Mazurkiewicz.
If you think you're identity has been compromised, you should call your bank to report it.
You can also call the Bibb County Sheriff's Office at 478-751-7500.