Individuals posing as a government agency to collect on a debt topped the nation’s list of consumer complaints in 2016. These so-called “imposter scams,” where con artists pose as a government agent to get you to hand over your cash surpassed identity theft, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
A common impostor scam is the “phony IRS agent,” where scammers contact consumers to claim they have been audited and owe money to the government. Victims of the scam are told to pay immediately or they can face imprisonment or deportation.
Another common scam involves a “fake computer technician,” in which the scammer claims the victim needs to purchase a security patch or software license. Of the people who complained about identity theft in 2016, approximately 29 percent said their information was used to commit fraud by filing fake tax returns to confiscate their tax refunds; 32 percent said it was used in credit card fraud.
Here are the Top 10 consumer complaint categories for 2016:
- Debt collection — 859,090 complaints
- Impostor scams — 406,578 complaints
- Identity theft — 399,225 complaints
- Telephone and mobile services — 292,155 complaints
- Banks and lenders — 143,987 complaints
- Prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries — 141,643 complaints
- Shop-at-home and catalog sales — 109,831 complaints
- Auto-related complaints — 94,673 complaints
- Credit bureaus, information furnishers and report users — 49,679 complaints
- Television and electronic media — 49,546 complaints
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