Criminals spend a lot of time and energy coming up with new ways to scam consumers but there remain tried and true schemes they tend to employ over and over.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) tracks these scams along with other consumer complaints, and ranks them each year, showing which ones are becoming more common.
Not every type of complaint involves criminality. ConsumerAffairs analyzed the FTC’s list of complaints, ranking the actual scams based on the number of FTC complaints.
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Identity theft
Number one for the second straight year is identity theft – probably the most dangerous scam of all.
In identity theft, a criminal has gained enough personal identifying information on the victim to take over their identity. With a full name, address, and Social Security number, the scammer can apply for loans and credit cards in the victim’s name.
A victim might not know for months that this has happened. The tipoff could come when they check their credit score and discover it has plunged, mainly because the person who stole their identity isn’t making any payments.
The best protection is to contact the three credit reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion – and freeze access to your credit report.
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Imposter scams
Also for the second year in a row, imposter scams are second on the list. These schemes can take many different forms.
Sometimes the scammer claims to be a law enforcement official or someone connected to a…
