Identity theft was the greatest cause of fraud-related complaints
filed with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2004, according
to an annual report released by the agency yesterday. It is the
fifth year in a row that identity theft has topped the list.
Of 653,173 complaints received in 2004, 246,570 were identity
theft reports – accounting for 39% of all complaints, says the
report. This is down slightly from 40% in 2002.
Credit card fraud was the most common form of reported identity
theft followed by phone or utilities fraud, bank fraud and
employment fraud. However, the FTC figures show that reported
incidents of credit card related identity theft have decreased,
from 41% of all ID theft complaints in 2002 to 28% in 2004.
Fraud complaints represented 61% of all complaints, with
internet related complaints accounting for 53% of that total. Top
of the list were complaints over internet auctions, forming 16% of
the total – up from 51,000 in 2002 to over 98,000 in 2004.
Complaints over shop-at-home and catalogue sales amounted to 8%,
while internet services and computer complaints accounted for
6%.
In all, says the FTC, US consumers lost over $548 million to
fraud last year, an average of $259 per consumer.
