Identity Theft Again Tops FTC List of Consumer Complaints


For the seventh consecutive year, identity theft led the list of consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission, according to an annual report issued February 7. The 246,035 identity theft complaints accounted for 36 percent of the 674,354 total complaints lodged during the 2006 calendar year.

The number of identity theft complaints dwarfed other categories in the top five: shop-at-home/catalog sales (7 percent); prizes. sweepstakes, and lotteries (7 percent); Internet services and computer complaints (6 percent); and Internet auction fraud (5 percent).

According to the Commission, consumers reported fraud losses totaling more than $1.1 billion, with the medium monetary loss being $500. Credit card fraud was the most common form of identity theft (25 percent), followed by phone or utilities fraud (16 percent), bank fraud (16 perent), and employment fraud (14 percent).

“Consumers’ help in stopping unlawful operations is critical,” said FTC Chair Deborah Platt Majoras. “By filing a complaint with the FTC, consumers are making information available to more than 1,600 law enforcement agencies that have access to our secure database.”

To file a complaint, a consumer may fill out a form at www.ftc.gov or call 1-877-FTC-HELP.

For the first time, complaint data was broken out by metropolitan statistical area. A list of statistical areas for the 350 metropolitan areas with populations greater than 100,000.can be found here on the FTC web site.

The metropolitan areas with the most complaints per 100,000 people were (1) Greeley, Colorado; (2) Albany-Lebanon, Oregon; (3) Napa, California; (4) Provo, Utah; and (5) Willimantic, Connecticut.

Complaint data has been sorted into 16 categories of fraud. They are:


1 Identity Theft ...........................................246,035..........36%
2 Shop-at-Home/Catalog Sales.....................46,995...........7%
3 Prizes/Sweepstakes and Lotteries...............45,587...........7%
4 Internet Services, Computers.....................41,243...........6%
5 Internet Auctions.......................................32,832...........5%
6 Foreign Money Offers................................20,411...........3%
7 Advance-Fee Loans,Credit.........................10,857............2%
8 Magazines and Buyers Clubs......................8,924.............1%
9 Telephone Services.....................................8,165............1%
10 Health Care..............................................7,467............1%
11 Bus. Opps and Work-at-Home Plans........7,460...........1%
12 Travel, Vacations, Timeshare..................6,712............1%
13 Office Supplies, Services.........................5,723............1%
14 Grants, Scholarships..............................5,310............1%
15 Employment/Job Counselors..................4,485............1%
16 Investments...........................................3,630............1%
Other Coded Complaints...........................12,399...........2%


The information is contained in a report--Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft: Complaint Data, January-December 2006. The report appears here on the FTC web site.