Identity theft complaints doubled last year
Complaints about identity theft nearly doubled in 2002 as the fast-growing crime topped the government’s list of consumer frauds for a third consecutive year. The Federal Trade Commission reports that 43% of roughly 380,000 complaints involved the hijacking of someone’s identity information, such as credit card or Social Security number, to steal money or commit fraud. The figures come from a government database of complaints collected from the FTC, the FBI and scores of law enforcement and consumer groups. Gripes about fraud in Internet auctions ranked No. 2 and accounted for 13% of complaints. Full Story