Top FTC Complaints

The FTC Releases its Listing of the Top Consumer Complaints in 2010; Once Again, Identity Theft Heads the List

The Federal Trade Commission recently released its list of the top consumer complaints received by the agency in 2010. For the 11^th consecutive year, identity theft claimed the top spot as the #1 consumer complaint. Nineteen percent of overall complaints were related to identity theft issues. Debt collection complaints were the next largest category.

Interestingly, "imposter scams" - where fraudulent individuals pose as friends, relatives, government agencies or well-known companies in an effort to get consumers to send them money- made the top 10 list for the first time.

Following is the list of top consumer complaints:

Rank	Category	# of Complaints	Percentage
1	Identity Theft	250,854	19%
2	Debt Collection	144,159	11%
3	Internet Services	65,565	5%
4	Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries	64,085	5%
5	Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales	60,205	4%
6	Imposter Scams	60,158	4%
7	Internet Auctions	56,107	4%
8	Foreign Money/Counterfeit Check Scams	43,866	3%
9	Telephone and Mobile Services	37,388	3%
10	Credit Cards	33,258	2%

The Federal Trade Commission's primary purpose is to prevent consumers from being victimized by fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC's online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,800 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. You can access free information on the FTC's official Website on a variety of consumer topics. "Like" the FTC on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter.

FTC CONTACT:
David Torok,
Bureau of Consumer Protection
202-326-3075