According to a recent study ID Analytics’ ID: A Labs there are more than 10,000 ID fraud rings in the US alone and Alabama, the Carolinas, Delaware, Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida lead in these hotspots. The report also points out that the targets are bank cards, wireless and the retail card industries.
Many of these rings are made up of career criminals but many are surprisingly family members or groups of friends. The rings are stealing victims’ identities or improperly sharing and manipulating personal information (e.g., Social Security numbers or dates of birth).
http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html
Of these crime rings many of them take place in the cities but a surprisingly high number are found in rural areas.
