Identity theft once again topped the FTC’s list of top consumer complaints, according to its annual report. The FTC received over 2 million complaints in 2013, with 14% related to identity theft.
The FTC also estimated that the more than 1.1 million fraud-related complaints resulted in consumers losing over $1.6 billion dollars.
The top 11 categories of 2013 consumer complaints are summarized below:
Category |
Number of Complaints |
Percentages |
Identity Theft |
290,056 |
14% |
Debt Collection |
204,644 |
10% |
Banks and Lenders |
152,707 |
7% |
Imposter Scams |
121,720 |
6% |
Telephone and Mobile Services |
116,261 |
6% |
Prizes, Sweepstakes, and Lotteries |
89,944 |
4% |
Auto Related Complaints |
82,701 |
4% |
Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales |
66,024 |
3% |
Television and Electronic Media |
53,087 |
3% |
Advance Payment for Credit Services |
50,422 |
2% |
Internet Services |
50,311 |
2% |
Telephone and mobile services related complaints, which were 5th on the list this year, included complaints about advertising related to mobile plans, unsolicited mobile text messages; problems with mobile applications or downloads; other mobile device problems; charges for calls to “toll-free” numbers; unauthorized charges such as charges for calls consumers didn’t make; misleading pre-paid phone card offers; complaints about VoIP services; and unsolicited faxes.
Internet services related complaints, which were 11th on the list, included problems with trial offers from ISPs; difficulty canceling an ISP account; issues with Internet entertainment services, Internet gaming, and social networking services; undisclosed charges; website design and hosting services; spyware, adware, and malware issues; and general complaints about information or functionality related to websites.