FTC Report on Identity Theft

This is the new FTC Report… Some key things to know

http://www.idtheftquiz.org/FTC-identity-theft.pdf

1. Total number of complaints is the highest ever with more than 1.2 million registered in 2008. In 2007, just over 800,000 complaints were filed (33% increase).
2. Since 2000 complaints have increased  from 230,000 to more than 1.2 million (an 81% increase)
3. Of the FTC complaints during calendar year 2007 - 26% were identity theft complaints.
4. 65% of all consumers filing with a complaint with the FTC never filed a police report.
   Fraud

1. Identity theft was the number one complaint category to the FTC for calendar year 2008 with 26% of the overall complaints, followed by Third Party and Creditor Debt Collection (9%); Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales (4%); Internet Services (4%); Foreign Money Offers and Counterfeit Check Scams (3%); Credit Bureaus, Information Furnishers and Report Users (3%); Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries (3%); Television and Electronic Media (2%); Banks and Lenders (2%); and Telecom Equipment and Mobile Services (2%).
2. 98% of the consumers reporting fraud also reported an amount paid.
3. A total of 643,195 FTC 2008 complaints are fraud-related. Consumers reported paying over $1.8 billion in those fraud complaints; the median amount paid was $440. Eighty-four percent of the consumers reporting fraud also reported an amount paid.
4. Colorado is the state with the highest per capita rate of reported fraud and other types of
   complaints, followed by Maryland and Nevada.
   Identity Theft

1. Top five states stayed the same – Arizona, California, Florida, Texas and Nevada. Nevada moved from third to fifth while Florida moved from fifth to third.
2. Total complaints increased from 259,266 to 313,982 (21% increase). There was only a 5% increase during the previous year (2006-2007).
3. Since 2000, there has been an 81% increase in identity theft complaints.
4. From 2007 to 2008 consumers reported spending more than $1.8 billion as a result of identity theft and fraud – a 25% increase from the year prior.
5. Credit card fraud (20%) was the most common form of reported identity theft followed by
   government documents/benefits fraud (15%), employment fraud (15%), and phone or utilities fraud (13%). Other significant categories of identity theft reported by victims were bank fraud (11%) and loan fraud (4%).
6. Government documents/benefits fraud is now the second most common reported type of identity theft after credit card fraud. Fraudulent tax return-related identity theft, a subtype of government documents/benefits fraud, has increased nearly six percentage points since calendar year 2006.
7. There was a 38% increase in identity theft complaints from last year in the Brownsville (TX) area and ranked #1 as the worst reported area in the U.S.
8. There was a 24% increase in identity theft complaints from last year in the Miami (FL) area.

Arizona Notes

1. Identity theft and fraud complaints rose 25% in the past year.
2. 33% of all ID theft problems in Arizona were employment related.
3. In 2007, the Phoenix-metro area ranked 29th in identity theft nationwide. In 2008 the area dropped to 38th through complaints were up by 1,000.
4. Reported cases identity theft related to government documents or benefits rose 70% (573 to 1,009).

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