Financial Crime

A 2003 survey sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that almost 3.25 million adult Americans discovered that their personal information had been misused through identity theft in the past year. (Federal Trade Commission. 2003. Identity Theft Survey Report. Washington, DC: Federal Trade Commission.)

Results of the FTC survey indicate that the total cost of identity theft approaches $50 billion per year, with the average loss from the misuse of a victim’s personal information being $4,800. (Ibid.)

Victims spent an average of 30 hours resolving the problems brought on by a theft of their identity in 2002. The FTC survey suggests that Americans spent almost 300 million hours resolving problems related to identity theft in the past year. (Ibid.)

It is estimated by the National White Collar Crime Center that losses due to employee theft can range from $20 to $90 billion annually to upwards of $240 billion a year when accounting for losses due to intellectual property theft. (National White Collar Crime Center. 2003. Embezzlement. Richmond, VA.)

Securities regulators estimate that securities and commodities fraud totals approximately $40 billion a year. (National White Collar Crime Center. 2002. Securities Fraud. Richmond, VA.)

Check fraud is estimated to cost United States businesses $10 billion a year. (National White Collar Crime Center. 2002. Check Fraud. Richmond, VA.)

There are approximately $500 million worth of checks forged annually. (Ibid.)

The average loss to consumers from telemarketing fraud in 2002 was $845. The three most common forms of fraud were telephone offers for credit cards (27 percent); work-at-home offers (18 percent); and prizes and sweepstakes (16 percent). (National Fraud Information Center. 2003. Telemarketing Fraud Statistics. Washington, DC: National Consumer League.)

Twenty-six percent of victims of telemarketing fraud overall in 2002 were age 60 or older. The elder age group was victim of prizes and sweepstakes fraud at a higher rate of 61 percent. (National Consumer League. 2003. Credit Card Scams Bump Prizes and Sweepstakes as #1 Telemarketing Fraud. Washington, DC.)

It has been estimated by the U.S. General Accounting Office that healthcare fraud totals 10 percent of total healthcare expenditures each year. Total expenditures currently exceed $1 trillion a year, which puts annual heathcare fraudulent losses at $100 billion. (National White Collar Crime Center. 2002. Healthcare Fraud: Richmond, VA.)

The National Fraud Information Center received reports of Internet fraud totaling $14,647,933 during 2002. Ninety percent of the losses occurred at online auction sites. (National Fraud Information Center. 2003. Internet Fraud Statistics. Washington, DC: National Consumer League.)

Consumer Sentinel, the fraud complaint database developed and maintained by the Federal Trade Commission received 380,103 consumer fraud and identity theft complaints in 2002. Consumers reported losses from fraud of more than $343 million. (Federal Trade Commission. www.ftc.gov/sentinel. Site visited 10/07/03.)