FTC Identity Theft
The Federal Trade Commission and Identity Theft
For a number of years identity theft has been on the rise. It is now at the top of the list of fraud-related crime complaints received by the Federal Trade Commission. FTC reports that,as far as consumer fraud is concerned, identity theft is highest in the case of Internet auctions. Identity theft is believed to have risen by 17% between 2003 and 2004. Of the total crimes reported to the FTC in 2004, id theft accounted for as much as 39%, which was 1% lower than the previous year. These crimes were mostly related to credit card fraud, followed by phone or utilities fraud, bank fraud and employment fraud. Internet fraud was the most common form of FTC identity theft, accounting for, it is believed, 53% of all fraud complaints. The value of such fraud amounted to more than US$265 million in the year 2004. These figures have been obtained from complaints that were made to consumer protection agencies as well as law enforcement.
Most Common FTC Identity Theft Complaint is Credit Card Fraud
According to FTC identity theft statistics, the internet is the most commonly used medium that accounts for the greatest number of solicitations for personal information. Most cases can be filed at the FTC site and, filing a complaint with the FTC enables complainants to reach thousands of law enforcement partners who could help restore the good name of the victim. The FTC identity theft resource center helps consumers by showing them how to minimize the risks involved or helps to recover from an instance of identity theft and, provides excellent guides as well as reports that are available to the public at large, free of cost. It will inform complainants of the need to contact fraud departments in any consumer reporting company and, to place a fraud alert on the complainant’s credit report. The complainant should also close accounts that have been tampered with or opened in a fraudulent manner. One should go at once to the FTC and, file a complaint and take a copy of that complaint to the police and, also file a complaint with the local police station. FTC is there to help with matters relating to identity theft and, will help people in need to fight back against such crimes.
Tags: ftc-identity-theft
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