Federal Trade Commission's Top 10 Complaints - 2005

By the numbers:
686,000 complaints received

37% - Identity Theft
12% - Internet Auctions
8% - Foreign Money Offers
8% - Shop-at-Home/Catalog Sales
7% - Prizes/Sweepstakes and Lotteries
7% - Internet Services and Computer Complaints
5% - Business Opportunities and Work-at-Home plans
2% - Advance-Fee Loans and Credit Protection
2% - Telephone Services
17% - Other

Interesting facts:

• 46 percent of the complaints were internet related. Those with "wire transfer" as the payment method tripled in the last two years.
  
  
• The major metropolitan areas with the highest per capita rates of reported identity theft were Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, AZ; Las Vegas/Paradise, NV; and Riverside/San Bernardino/Ontario, CA.
  
  
• The most common form of identity theft being reported is credit card fraud. Bank fraud was third and EFTs are the most common form of ID theft under the bank fraud category.
  
  
• The major metropolitan areas with the highest per capita rates of consumer fraud reported were Washington, DC; Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater, FL; and Seattle, WA.