Foreign money orders, Internet auctions and prize/sweepstakes/gifts topped the Federal Trade Commission’s list of categories for the most cross-border fraud complaints last year.
In a report compiled using data from the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel database, the commission said it received 61,744 cross-border fraud complaints in 2004, 57% of which were Internet-related. By comparison, in 2003, there were 46,767 complaints, 47% of which were Internet-related.
Fifty-three percent of the total complaints came from U.S. consumers against companies located in foreign countries other than Canada, while 24% were lodged by consumers against companies in Canada. Eight percent of the complaints came from foreign consumers against companies located in the U.S. or Canada, another 7% came from Canadian consumers against U.S. companies, and 8% came from Canadian consumers against companies located in other foreign countries.
Other top categories for cross-border fraud complaints were catalogs/shop-at-home, lotteries/lottery ticket buying clubs and advance-fee loans.
The FTC and members of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) met in Edinburgh, Scotland earlier this week to discuss the progress of international efforts to combat cross-border fraud and explore new international initiatives to protect consumers around the world.
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