Identity theft was the No. 1 consumer fraud complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission in 2005, accounted for 255,000, or 37%, of 686,683 complaints filed last year, the commission said Wednesday.
Also, online auction fraud was the No. 2 category, accounting for 12%, the commission said.
Other top fraud-complaint categories in descending order were: Catalogers and other distance sellers, 8%; Foreign money offers, 8%; Prizes and sweepstakes, 7%; Internet services and computer complaints, 5%. Business opportunities, advance fee loans and credit protection offers, and telephone services accounted for 2% each.
Internet-related companies accounted for 46% of fraud complaints in 2005, the FTC said. Also, 55% of complaints where the initial form of contact was reported identified e-mail and the Web as the method.
E-mail was the No. 1 initial contact method, accounting for 35%; the Web was No.2, accounting for 20%; postal mail was No. 3, accounting for 18%; and the telephone was No. 4, accounting for 17%, the FTC said.
Consumers in 2005 reported fraud losses of more than $680 million, with a median loss of $350, according to the FTC.
Credit card fraud was the most common form of reported identity theft, followed by phone or utilities fraud, bank fraud and employment fraud, the commission reported.
Cities with the highest per capita rates of identity theft were Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale, AZ; Las Vegas and Paradise, NV; and Riverside, San Bernadino and Ontario, CA, the FTC said.
Cities with the highest per capita rates of consumer fraud were Washington, DC; Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, FL and Seattle, WA, the FTC said.
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