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FTC: Credit Card-Related Fraud Complaints Climbing
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Cases of identity theft and fraud reported by consumers to the Federal Trade Commission last year jumped 4 percent to almost one million complaints, the FTC reported today.
Total complaints filed with the consumer protection agency for 2009 were up 8.6 percent to more than 1.3 million, led by identity theft (21 percent); “third party and creditor debt collection” (9 percent); Internet services (6 percent); and “shop-at-home and catalog sales” (also 6 percent).
The complaint categories of fraud and identity theft combined were at 999,496 – an increase of 40,656 complaints from the previous year.
In the 721,418 fraud complaints reported, consumers paid over $1.7 billion, with the median at $399, the FTC said.
The percentage of fraud-related complaints with credit cards as the primary payment also increased 4 percent compared to the previous year, and 7 percent since 2007, the FTC said in its annual overview of complaints.
Moreover, credit card fraud (17 percent) was the most common form of reported identity theft, followed by fraud related to government documents/benefits (16 percent); phone or utilities (15 percent), and employment fraud (13 percent). Other significant categories of identity theft reported by victims were bank fraud (10 percent) and loan fraud (4 percent).
Florida is the state with the highest per capita rate of reported identity theft complaints, followed by Arizona and Texas, the FTC said.
Click for a complete list of complaints.
For a video on how to file a complaint with the FTC, click here.
Here is the list of top complaint categories:
| Rank | Category | Complaints | Percentages |
| 1 | Identity Theft | 278,078 | 21% |
| 2 | Third Party and Creditor Debt Collection | 119,549 | 9% |
| 3 | Internet Services | 83,067 | 6% |
| 4 | Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales | 74,581 | 6% |
| 5 | Foreign Money Offers and Counterfeit Check Scams | 61,736 | 5% |
| 6 | Internet Auction | 57,821 | 4% |
| 7 | Credit Cards | 45,203 | 3% |
| 8 | Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries | 41,763 | 3% |
| 9 | Advance-Fee Loans and Credit Protection/Repair | 41,448 | 3% |
| 10 | Banks and Lenders | 32,443 | 2% |
| 11 | Credit Bureaus, Information Furnishers and Report Users | 31,629 | 2% |
| 12 | Television and Electronic Media | 26,568 | 2% |
| 13 | Health Care | 25,414 | 2% |
| 14 | Business Opportunities, Employment Agencies and Work-at-Home Plans | 22,896 | 2% |
| 15 | Computer Equipment and Software | 22,621 | 2% |
If it walks like a piggy, talks like a piggy, by golly it’s a PIGGY!
BofA and it’s CEO Brian Moynihan reminds me of that song by John Lennon and George Harrison titled “Piggies” I invite you to listen to this song on youtube and see if it appropriately fits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTmeHM-Hojg&feature=related
Have you seen the little piggies
Crawling in the dirt
And for all the little piggies
Life is getting worse
Always having dirt to play around in.
Have you seen the bigger piggies
In their starched white shirts
You will find the bigger piggies
Stirring up the dirt
Always have clean shirts to play around in.
In their ties with all their backing
They don’t care what goes on around
In their eyes there’s something lacking
What they need’s a damn good whacking.
Everywhere there’s lots of piggies
Living piggy lives
You can see them out for dinner
With their piggy wives
Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.
John Wright vs. Bank of America Lawsuit at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20100323/bs_prweb/prweb3766544_1
When I filed my lawsuit against Bank of America, myself and United Law Group thought of the many others out there in the same situation. It was then that we decided to educate the public on what these piggy banks are doing, as well as unite us all together as one voice. Please help me turn this David vs. Goliath modification process, into a Goliath vs. Goliath.
Please stand with me and United Law Group and send an email to Bank of America that states that we will no longer tolerate their potentially illegal, fraudulent, irregular and abusive business methods.
Divided we might have fell America, but united we must stand!
Please send your email directly to Bank of America and include the following:
1. Your name
2. Your complaint concerning your experience with Bank of America.
3. Please end your email “I support John Wright vs. BofA Lawsuit!”
4. Please send a copy of your email to johns-wright@hotmail.com
5. Please send your email to both BofA link below and the CEO email
BofA Linked Email:
https://www3.bankofamerica.com/contact/?lob=general&contact_returnto=&state=VA
CEO Brian Moynihan:
brian.t.moynihan@bankofamerica.com
Matthew Task, Executive Relations
Office of the CEO
813-805-4873