14 September 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Topeka and Manhattan beat Wichita, the largest metropolitan area in Kansas, for the highest percentage of fraud cases in 2022.
The population of Wichita is roughly 3.2 times larger than Topeka with 399,411 citizens, according to the City of Wichita and U.S. Census Bureau figures on Topeka. Despite the three-fold population difference, the number of fraud reports in Wichita was only 2.5 times more than in Topeka.
Topeka ranked 173rd nationally with 862 reports per 100,000 citizens for a metropolitan area, according to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) data. Wichita, however, ranked 214th in the nation with 807 reports per 100,000 citizens.
The 2022 FTC data on reported fraud cases listed five metropolitan areas in Kansas: Topeka, Wichita, Lawrence and Manhattan. St. Joseph was the fifth metro area listed for both Kansas and Missouri. Of all metro areas in Kansas, Manhattan had the largest number of fraud cases relative to population size with 1.93% of individuals reporting instances of fraud.
Of the metro areas, Topeka had the second-largest number of fraud reports based on population size. In Topeka, 1.59% of the population reported cases of fraud. Of all metro areas, Lawrence had the lowest relative number of fraud cases with only 1% of citizens making fraud reports.
In total, Kansas had 729 reports of fraud for every 100,000 people. This places Kansas in the bottom 10 states at 43rd in the nation for reported cases of fraud. For comparison, Georgia had the most fraud cases in 2022 with 1,550 per 100,000 people and 162,957 total reports.
In some cases, FTC action gets money back to people affected by fraud. The quicker you act the higher your chances of getting your money back, according to the Report Fraud FTC website.
In 2022, $3,582,084 in refunds were sent to Kansas. To see a list of cases that have resulted in refunds, click here.
If you or someone you know has been affected by fraud you can make a report to the FTC here. Reports made are used to investigate and bring cases against fraud, scams and bad business practices, according to the FTC. Reports made to the FTC are shared with more than 2,800 law enforcers.
Metro AreaPopulation SizeCases of Fraud% of Population affectedManhattan53,8291,0431.94Topeka125,4992,0031.6Wichita399,4115,1601.29St. Joseph70,6567521.06Lawrence95,7949691.01FTC Data on fraud reports in Kansas metropolitan areas.
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