Credit Card Fraud Tops The List Of Customer Complaints
Identity theft topped 2009’s list of customer complaints released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It most frequently took the form of credit card fraud.
The report analyzed the complaints by type and location. Identity theft accounted for 278,078 complaints, or 21 percent of the total. The state with the most identity theft complaints was California, with 42,209. Florida, Arizona and Texas reported the highest number of such complaints per capita.
Third-party and creditor debt collection and Internet services also generated large numbers of complaints. The combined number of complaints related to these issues was still less than that for identity theft.
The complaints are received and stored by the Consumer Sentinel Network. Last year, there were more than 1.5 million complaints sent to the network, 54 percent of which were related to fraud. The median amount paid on these fraud complaints was $399, according to the report. Of the fraud-related complaints that reported initial contact, almost half pointed to e-mail.
Along with the list of top complaints, the FTC released a new animated video about filing a complaint. The video, which is available in Spanish, identifies various types of scams and directs consumers to ftc.gov/complaint to file a report.
Tags: credit card fraud, Identity Theft
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Reader Comments
The complaints are received and stored by the Consumer Sentinel Network. Last year, there were more than 1.5 million complaints sent to the network, 54 percent of which were related to fraud.
July 24, 2010 5:59 amCredit Score Calculator
==========sophia
Hi there, i like this article… very good information. keep up the good work..
March 3, 2011 9:54 pm1.5 million complaints sent? wow!!!
March 3, 2011 9:56 pmIdentity theft is now reaching alarming levels throughout the country. These crimes happen both online and offline. As a vigilant citizen, you will be very much helpful if you file a report if you suspect your credit accounts are in use without your authorization. Also, you can learn more about these crimes and tips on what to do.
April 28, 2011 1:27 pmIn our busy lives, some of us do not have the luxury to do our personal shopping to go to an actual mall and so we tend to purchase items that we want or need online since this is more convenient. We share personal information as well as our credit card accounts online not knowing that fraudulent minds are on the hunt to to find victims so that they can make a purchase using other people’s account numbers.
May 11, 2011 8:49 amI think the majority of credit card owners experience some kind of fraud during their lives.
May 16, 2011 5:44 pm