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Karin Malchow

Scam Examiner
Gullible suburban mother of four regularly duped in her half-century life. Exploring hoaxes and schemes as the ExSCAMiner, she attempts answering the nagging question: Should I have fallen for that? Got scam tips, email Karin at ScamExaminer@gmail.com.

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    Showing entries for Category: Identity-Theft


    Does your city rank on reporting fraud?

    September 30, 12:12 AM
    by Karin Malchow, Scam Examiner
     
     
    The Federal Trade Commission maintains a Consumer Sentinel database collecting complaints from 125 organizations, including the Better Business Bureau, the Internet Crime Complaint Center and the US Postal Inspection Service.  The individual consumer complaints are available to law enforcement agencies, but the FTC releases an annual report every February.

    Some 2007 data:

    Top ten metropolitan areas reporting consumer fraud (ranking is based on complaints per 100,000 residents)

    1. Albany-Lebanon, OR
    2. Greeley, CO
    3. Napa, CA
    4. Punta Gorda, FL
    5. Allegan, MI
    6. Roseburg, OR
    7. Dunn, NC
    8. Willimantic, CT
    9. Concord, NH
    10. Gainesville, GA


    Top ten metropolitan areas reporting identity theft (ranking based on complaints per 100,000 residents)

    1. Napa, CA
    2. Madera, CA
    3. Greeley, CO
    4. Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
    5. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
    6. Vallejo-Fairfield, CA
    7. Hanford-Corcoran, CA
    8. Dunn, NC
    9. Flagstaff, AZ
    10. Thomasville-Lexington, NC

    None of these are extremely large population areas, so a big scamming event could set off a flurry of complaints.  Any Freakonomics analysis or knowledgeable residents?  (Especially in cities making both lists: Greeley, CO; Napa, CA; and Dunn, NC.)

    The full FTC report (PDF 2.4 MB) is available online.

    Fast Facts: 2007 fraud complaint losses totaled $1.2 billion.  Identity theft has been the #1 reported consumer complaint for 8 years.  The 18-29 age group reported the most 2007 identity theft complaints (29%). 

     


    Topics: fraud , Identity Theft , FTC
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