Consumers lose $1.5 billion to identity theft, online scams
Consumers lose $1.5 billion to identity theft, online scams
Identity theft and other scams cost Americans $1.52 billion last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said yesterday.
Based on a nationwide sampling of consumer complaints, law enforcement and other agencies received 1.8 million complaints last year, up from 1.4 million in 2010 and double the level in 2006, the FTC said in a statement. Identity theft remained the top category.
The increase reflects the growing number of agencies that contributed to the Consumer Sentinel Network, a database that is the basis of the report, rather than an upturn in fraud, David Torok, head of the FTC’s planning and communications unit, told Reuters.
Identity theft “has been our No. 1 complaint generator for the past five years, and that seems to be consistent” at 15 percent of complaints last year, he said.
Criminals increasingly are using the Internet and email to carry out scams or identity theft rather than by telephone or mail, Torok said. “The old-fashioned ‘the check is in the mail’ is going down,” he said.
The FTC said almost a million complaints last year were fraud-related, with $1.52 billion paid out. The median amount was $537, the statement said.
Identity theft and other scams cost Americans $1.52 billion last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Tuesday.
Based on a nationwide sampling of consumer complaints, law enforcement and other agencies received 1.8 million complaints last year, up from 1.4 million in 2010 and double the level in 2006, the FTC said in a statement. Identity theft remained the top category.
The increase reflects the growing number of agencies that contributed to the Consumer Sentinel Network, a database that is the basis of the report, rather than an upturn in fraud, David Torok, head of the FTC’s planning and communications unit, told Reuters.
Identity theft “has been our No. 1 complaint generator for the past five years, and that seems to be consistent” at 15 percent of complaints last year, he said.
Criminals increasingly are using the Internet and email to carry out scams or identity theft rather than by telephone or mail, Torok said. “The old-fashioned ‘the check is in the mail’ is going down,” he said.
The FTC said almost a million complaints last year were fraud-related, with $1.52 billion paid out. The median amount was $537, the statement said.
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