For
Release:
January 22, 2004
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.
Copies of the FTC report, “National
and State Trends in Fraud and Identity Theft,” can be found online at
www.consumer.gov/sentinel/pubs/Top10Fraud2003.pdf.
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.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Claudia Bourne Farrell or Jennifer Schwartzman
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2180
(http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/01/top10.htm)
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Related Documents:
La
Ftc Da a Conocer Las 10 Primeras Categorías
De Quejas De Fraude De Los Consumidores Durante El Año
2003
Las
Quejas de Robo de Identidad Continúan Encabezando la
Lista; Suben las Quejas de Fraude Relacionado a Internet
Consumer Information:
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