The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released the agency’s Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2013, which summarized consumer complaints. There were over 2.1 million complaints reported in 2013. The following table summarizes the top ten types of complaints filed in 2013:
|
Category |
No. of Complaints |
| Identity Theft | 290,056 |
| Debt Collection | 204,644 |
| Bank and Lenders | 152,707 |
| Impostor Scams | 121,720 |
| Telephone and Mobile Services | 116,261 |
| Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries | 89,944 |
| Auto-Related Complaints | 82,701 |
| Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales | 66,024 |
| Television and Electronic Media | 53,087 |
| Advance Payments for Credit Services | 50,422 |
The FTC’s press release indicated, “The highest reported age group for identity theft is 20-29, with 20 percent of complaints.”
This should not come as a shock as this age group uses the Internet more than others and most of the identity theft crimes are being conducted by stealing personal information through the Internet. The FTC provides the following helpful information on Signs of Identity Theft, Immediate Steps to Repair Identity Theft, and How to Keep Your Personal Information Secure. As we are all becoming more dependent on the Internet in our daily lives, we must be vigilant on keeping our identities protected from theft.
