FTC releases
top
10
consumer
complaint categories in 2003
Identity Theft
Complaints Continue to Top List;
Internet Related Fraud Complaints Soar
The Federal Trade
Commission has released its annual report detailing consumer complaints
about identity theft and listing the top 10 fraud complaint categories
reported by consumers in 2003. For the fourth year in a row, identity
theft topped the list, accounting for 42 percent of the complaints
lodged in the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel database. The FTC received more
than half a million complaints in 2003, up from 404,000 in 2002, and
Internet-related complaints accounted for 55 percent of all fraud
reports, up from 45 percent in 2002.
Howard Beales,
Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection noted that in
addition to the complaints consumers register directly with the FTC,
other organizations, including the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint
Center, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, The National Consumers
League’s National Fraud Information Center, Canada’s Phonebusters,
and Better Business Bureaus contribute complaint data to the FTC’s
Consumer Sentinel database.
“More than 900 law
enforcement agencies in the U.S., Canada, and Australia are using
Consumer Sentinel, accessing one-and-a-half million consumer complaints
through the Sentinel network,” Beales said. “They can coordinate
actions, track down leads, and research other law enforcement tools.
This model – one central source of consumer fraud data available to
law enforcement, reflecting overall trends in fraud, ID theft, and
emerging scams – is making our work more efficient for law enforcement
and more effective for consumers.”
The top 10 categories of consumer fraud complaints in 2003 include:
Internet Auctions
- 15 percent
Shop-at-Home/Catalog
Sales - 9 percent
Internet Services
and Computer Complaints - 6 percent
Prizes,
Sweepstakes and Lotteries - 5 percent
Foreign Money
Offers - 4 percent
Advance Fee Loans
and Credit Protection - 4 percent
Telephone Services
- 3 percent
Business
Opportunities and Work-at-Home Plans - 2 percent
Magazine Buyers
Clubs - 1 percent
Office Supplies
and Services - 1 percent
Other findings from
the report include the following:
Of the 516,740
complaints received in 2003, 301,835 were complaints about fraud and
214,905 were identity theft reports.
Identity theft
reports represented 42 percent of all complaints, up from 40 percent
in 2002.
The median loss
for victims of fraud was $228.
The median loss
for victims of Internet-related fraud was $195.
The major
metropolitan areas with the highest per capita rates of consumer
fraud reported were Washington, DC; Seattle/Bellevue/Everett, WA;
and San Diego, CA. Higher reporting of fraud does not necessarily
indicate a higher overall incidence.
The major
metropolitan areas with the highest per capita rates of ID theft
reported were Phoenix/Mesa, AZ; Los Angeles/Long Beach, CA; and
Riverside/San Bernardino, CA.
The FTC works for the
consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices
in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot,
stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on
any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1
877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at www.ftc.gov.
The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other
fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online
database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement
agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
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