Identity Theft Is Top Consumer Complaint of 2007

This posting was written by John W. Arden.

For the eighth consecutive year, identity theft tops the list of consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission, according to an annual report issued February 13. The 258,427 identity theft complaints accounted for 32 percent of the 813,889 total complaints lodged during the 2007 calendar year.

Even though the number of identity theft complaints rose by nearly 2,400 over 2006, its share of all complaints decreased by four percent, owing to an increase in total complaints of almost 140,000 (a 20 percent increase).

Credit card fraud was the most common form of identity theft reported (23 percent), followed by utilities fraud (18 percent), employment fraud (14 percent), and bank fraud (13 percent).

The number of identity theft complaints far-and-away outdistanced complaints in other categories in the top five. Categories two through five were: shop-at-home/catalog sales (8 percent), Internet services (five percent), foreign money offers (four percent), and prizes/sweepstakes and lotteries (four percent).

According to the Commission, consumers reported fraud losses totaling more than 1.2 billion (compared to 1.1 billion in 2006), with the medium monetary loss per person being $349.

Complaints by State, Metropolitan Areas

The 92-page report breaks out complaint data on a state-by-state basis and also contains data about 50 metropolitan areas reporting the highest per capita incidence of fraud and the 50 metropolitan areas reporting the highest incidence of identity theft.

The states with the most fraud complaints per 100,000 people are Colorado, Washington, Missouri, Arizona, and Alaska. The states with the most identity theft victims per 100,000 people are Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, and Florida.

The metropolitan areas of more than 100,000 with the most consumer fraud complaints were (1) Albany-Lebanon, Oregon; (2) Greeley, Colorado; (3) Napa, California; (4) Punta Gorda, Florida; and (5) Allegan, Michigan. The metropolitan areas of more than 100,000 with the most identity theft complaints were (1) Napa, California; (2) Madera, California; (3) Greeley, Colorado; (4) Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas; and (5) McAllen-Edinberg-Mission, Texas.

The top 20 complaint categories were:

1. Identity Theft........................258,427 complaints........32%
2. Shop-at-Home/Catalog Sales..........62,811 complaints.........8%
3. Internet Services...................42,266 complaints...............5%
4. Foreign Money Offers................32,868 complaints......... 4%
5. Prizes/Sweepstakes and Lotteries....32,162 complaints.........4%
6. Computer Equipment and Software.....27,036 complaints.......3%
7. Internet Auctions...................24,376 complaints...........3%
8. Health Care Claims.................16,097 complaints..........2%
9. Travel, Vacations, and Timeshares...14,903 complaints.........2%
10. Advance-Fee Loans, Credit Pro./Repair..14,342 complaints...2%
11. Investments.......................13,705 complaints........2%
12. Magazines and Buyers Clubs........12,970 compliants...........2%
13. Bus. Opps/Work-at-Home Plans...11,362 complaints........1%
14. Real Estate (Not Timeshares)........9,475 complaints...........1%
15. Office Supplies and Services........9,211 complaints...........1%
16. Telephone Services..................8,155 complaints........1%
17. Employ. Ag./Overseas Work......5,932 complaints........1%
18. Debt Man./Credit Counseling.......3,442 complaints.......1%
19. Multi-Level Mktg./Pyramids/Chain Lets....3,092 complaints...1%
20. Charitable Solicitations.............1,843 complaints.....1%

The FTC report (“Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data, January—December 2007”) appears here on the FTC website.