Sifter
Watch your back
You wouldn’t get scammed, would you? That’s just for dummies and old people. Not according to a report on consumer fraud released Jan. 25 by the Federal Trade Commission. Besides finding that only 12 percent of victims reporting losses are over 60 years old, the FTC ranked U.S. metropolitan areas by per capita fraud prevalence. Here’s a breakdown, by category, of the 686,000 complaints the agency received in 2005. We hear some prince in Nigeria has some money for you.
Type of fraud percentage
Idenity theft 37%
Internet auctions 12%
Foreign money offers 8%
Shop-at-home/catalog sales 8%
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 2%
Other 17%
