January 25, 2006
Identity theft leads the Federal Trade Commission's annual report detailing consumer complaints. Complaints about identity theft accounted for 255,000 of more than 686,000 complaints filed with the agency in 2005.
The complaints, filed online or at a toll-free number, are shared via a secure database with more than 1,400 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and law enforcement and consumer protection agencies in Canada and Australia.
Identity theft complaints represented 37 percent of the 686,683 complaints filed. Other top categories of fraud complaints for 2005 include:
• Internet Auctions - 12 percent
• Foreign Money Offers - 8 percent
• Shop-at-Home/Catalog Sales - 8 percent
• Prizes/Sweepstakes and Lotteries - 7 percent
• Internet Services and Computer Complaints - 5 percent
• Advance-Fee Loans and Credit Protection - 2 percent
• Telephone Services - 2 percent
Other findings from the report include:
• Internet-related complaints accounted for 46 percent of all fraud complaints.
• The percent of Internet-related fraud complaints with wire transfer as the reported payment method more than tripled between 2003 and 2005.
• The major metropolitan areas with the highest per capita rates of consumer fraud reported were Washington, DC; Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater, FL; and Seattle, WA.
• Credit card fraud was the most common form of reported identity theft, followed by phone or utilities fraud, bank fraud, and employment fraud.
• The most frequently reported type of identity theft bank fraud was electronic funds transfers.
• The major metropolitan areas with the highest per capita rates of reported identity theft were Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, AZ; Las Vegas/Paradise, NV; and Riverside/San Bernardino/Ontario, CA.
Consumers can test their knowledge about identity theft at www.onguardonline.gov/quiz.
The FTC maintains a Web site at www.consumer.gov/idtheft that is a one-stop national resource where consumers can learn about the crime of identity theft. It provides detailed information to help consumers protect themselves from identity theft, and the steps to take if it occurs.
It is also a comprehensive reference center for consumers, businesses, law enforcement, and the media with access to specific laws, contact information, and resources from state and federal government agencies.
