NCJ Number
229053
Date Published
October 2007
Length
128 pages
Annotation
Findings are presented from the Federal Trade Commission 2005 Consumer Fraud Survey.
Abstract
Highlights of survey findings include: 1) an estimated 13.5 percent of United States adults (30.2 million consumers) were victims of 1 or more of the frauds covered in the 2005 survey during the year before the survey was conducted; 2) of the 30.2 million victims, an estimated 21.0 million experienced 1 or more of the 14 specific frauds covered by the survey, and of the 48.7 million incidents of fraud during this 1 year period of 2005, 34.1 million involved the specific frauds and 14.6 million involved more general frauds; 3) more consumers were victims of fraudulent weight-loss products than of any of the other specific frauds covered by the survey; 4) Hispanics and African-Americans were significantly more likely to experience one or more of the frauds covered by the survey than non-Hispanic Whites; 5) in 27 percent of incidents, victims learned about fraudulent offers through print advertising; 6) purchases were made by telephone in 29 percent of fraudulent transactions that involved a purchase, more than any other means of making a purchase; and 7) credit cards were the most commonly used method of payment for fraudulent transactions, accounting for 37 percent of all such transactions. In 2003, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioned a survey of consumer experiences involving fraud to learn more about the types and extent of fraud perpetrated on United States consumers. Results of this survey were published in 2004. In 2005, the FTC conducted a second survey of consumer fraud. This report details the results of the survey. Figures, tables, and appendixes