The Federal Trade Commission today provided the Senate Special Committee on
Aging with a report detailing patterns of complaints regarding fraud and identity
theft from consumers age 50 and older. Testifying for the Commission, Lois
Greisman, Associate Director of the Division of Planning and Information in
the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said that in 2004, consumers age
50 and over reported $152,000,000 in fraud losses to the agency.
“Fraud against older consumers mirrors fraud against the population as a whole,”
the testimony says. After identity theft, Internet auction fraud is the top
category of fraud complaints for consumers both over and under 50 years. But
Greisman said that FTC data showed that older consumers more frequently fall
victim to some types of fraud. “Prize and sweepstakes fraud is more prevalent
among older consumers than among the public at large, and is particularly
prevalent among consumers age 70 and older,” she said.
According to the testimony, the FTC received 650,000 fraud and identity theft
complaints in 2004 – 85 percent provided the consumer’s age and approximately
a quarter of those complaints – 145,895 – were from consumers age 50 and over.
“The top fraud complaints categories from consumers age 50 and older were:
Internet Auctions; Prizes/Sweepstakes and Lotteries; Internet Services and
Computer Complaints; Shop-at-Home/Catalog Sales; Foreign Money Offers; Telephone
Services; Advance-Fee Loans and Credit Protection/Repair; and Business Opportunities
and Work-at-Home Plans.”
“Lottery and sweepstakes frauds, many of which originate in Canada, have been
major targets of FTC enforcement actions,” according to the testimony. “Almost
12,000 older consumers complained to the FTC that they were victims of fraudulent
prize or sweepstakes promotions in 2004.” The testimony says that the FTC
partners with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other Canadian law enforcement
agencies to combat cross-border fraud. In addition, in June, the FTC released
a report to Congress, “US SAFE WEB Act: Protecting Consumers from Spam, Spyware,
and Fraud,” recommending legislation that would enhance the agency’s ability
to combat cross-border fraud.
Of all the complaints about identity theft filed with the agency in 2004,
51,000, representing about 22 percent of the total, were from consumers age
50 or older. “The most striking difference between consumers under 50 and
those over 50 was the greater prevalence of older consumers complaining that
new credit accounts had been opened in their names.” According to a survey
conducted by the FTC, “new account” fraud takes longer to detect, is more
costly, and poses a greater challenge for recovery.
“Our data show that fraudsters and identity thieves do not discriminate when
it comes to committing trickery – everyone is at risk,” the testimony says.
Copies of the testimony are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response
Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The
FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business
practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers
spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish (bilingual
counselors are available to take complaints), or to get free information on
any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357),
or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov . The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing,
identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel,
a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law
enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.