Federal Trade Commission Reports Top Frauds for 2018

This isn’t a juicy frauds and crooks story like some I’ve reported lately, but it is a useful one sent to me by a reader.

The FTC last week reported a summary of what kinds of consumer frauds were trending and tells us which states are the most fraud-ridden (or at least the states where in 2018 people reported that they had been defrauded).
And get this…..

There was a 38% jump in the amount of money lost to fraud in 2018 over 2017, says the FTC!

Learn which states are the worst for consumer fraud and where to report this type of fraud!

The top frauds of 2018

Every year, millions of you tell us – and our partners – about the frauds you spotted. Last year, we heard from 3 million of you, and here’s some of what we learned from your reports:

~We collected more than 1.4 million fraud reports, and people said they lost money to the fraud in 25% of those reports. People reported losing $1.48 billion (with a ‘b’) to fraud last year – an increase of 38% over 2017.

~The top reports in 2018 were: imposter scams, debt collection, and identity theft.

~Younger people reported losing money to fraud more often than older people. Let that sink in. It’s what the data have been telling us for a while, but it’s hard for people to grasp. Last year, of those people who reported fraud and their age, 43% of people in their 20s reported a loss to that fraud, while only 15% of people in their 70s did.

~When people in their 70s did lose money, the amount tended to be higher: their median loss was $751, compared to $400 for people in their 20s.

[….]

~The top 3 states for fraud and other reports (per 100K population) are Florida, Georgia and Nevada. The top 3 states for identity theft reports (also per 100K) are Georgia, Nevada and California.

More here.
Now check out the cool map we are directed to!


 

So what should you do?

The FTC urges you to report fraud.  I’m thinking that young people might report fraud more readily simply because they are more savvy about internet use.

….keep reporting to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint. We use those reports to investigate and bring cases – and so do our thousands of law enforcement partners.