Identity thieves are still public enemy no. 1 on the consumer gripe list. The Federal Trade Commission released with its year-end wrap-up of consumer complaints logged by its massive database, the Consumer Sentinel Network. For the first time since 2001, the total actually dropped - from 1.377 million in 2009 to 1.339 million last year. Of those, 250,854 were related to identity theft, while complaints about debt collection were in second place, with 144,159 complaints.
Consumer complaints dip, identity theft still on top
In Minnesota, grips about sweepstakes, prizes and lotteries ruled in 2010
March 8, 2011 at 11:27PM
The FTC noted that for the first time, "imposter scams" - like the infamous, insidious, dastardly grandparent scam - made it into the top 10 category of complaints, debuting at no. 6..
In Minnesota, complaints about sweepstakes, prizes and lotteries were actually ahead of debt collection gripes - not surprising, given the number of phony sweepstakes offers that Whistleblower hears about every week. Though it seems like it to us, Minnesota is not actually complaint central - Florida is tops in identity theft complaints (Minnesota is 36th), while Colorado rules in fraud and other complaints per capita (Minnesota is 33rd). The Twin Cities doesn't even crack the top 50 metro areas in these categories. See the document below for a breakdown on the top consumer gripes in Minnesota last year.
