WASHINGTON DC ? Identity theft and consumer fraud last year cost Americans $548 million, more than $100 million than the year before, statistics released by the Federal Trade Commission reported Tuesday.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it received 635,000 consumer complaints in 2004. Identity theft topped the list with 247,000 complaints, up 15 percent from the previous year.
Internet-related fraud accounted for more than half of the remaining complaints as scammers found victims through Web sites or unsolicited e-mail, the FTC said.
Fraud and identity theft in 2003 cost consumers $437 million.
Auction fraud was the most common Internet scam, the FTC said in its annual fraud report, followed by complaints about online shopping and Internet access service.
Consumers likely lost significantly more than the amount reported, as fewer than half were able to pin a dollar figure on their losses.
The median monetary loss reported was $259, though 41 consumers reported losses of $1 million or more.
