Identity theft once again led the annual list of top consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission.
Of 1,339,265 complaints received by the FTC in 2010, 250,854 - or 19% - were related to identity theft, the 11th straight year the crime has topped the list.
Debt collection was in second place, followed by Internet services; prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries; and shop-at-home and catalog sales.
For the first time, “imposter scams” – in which imposters posed as friends, family, respected companies or government agencies to get consumers to send them money – made the top 10, coming in at No. 6.
Internet auctions; foreign money/counterfeit check scams; telephone and mobile phone services; and credit cards rounded out the list.
The data come from the Consumer Sentinel Network, a law enforcement database that also includes complaints filed with sources including the Better Business Bureau, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and select state agencies.
Total complaints in 2010 were down slightly compared to 2009.
Residents of Colorado filed the most fraud complaints per capita, followed by Maryland, and identify theft complaints came most often from residents of Florida and Arizona.
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