By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com

"For the seventh year in a row, identity theft was the number one source of consumer fraud complaints submitted to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). According to the agency's yearly report on fraud complaints for 2007, of 813,899 total complaints received in 2007, 258,427, or 32 percent, were related to identity theft.

According to the FTC, total consumer fraud losses totaled $1.2 billion, with the average monetary loss for an individual at $349. Credit card fraud was the most common form of reported identity theft at 23 percent, followed by utilities fraud at 18 percent, employment fraud at 14 percent, and bank fraud at 13 percent.

The top form of credit card fraud was opening a fraudulent new account at 14.2 percent, followed by fraud on an existing account at 9.4 percent.

The FTC compiled fraud data from consumer complaints in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and identified the 50 metropolitan areas with the highest incidence of fraud and identity theft. The metropolitan areas with the highest per capita rates of reported consumer fraud complaints were Albany-Lebanon, Oregon; Greeley, Colorado; and Napa, California."

You can read the entire story by Marin H. Bosworth at;

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/02/id_theft.html

Largest Metropolitan Areas Ranking for Fraud Consumer Complaints for 2007 and number of reports received. (ref: FTC)

1 Albany-Lebanon, OR Micropolitan Statistical Area 642

2 Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area 1,359

3 Napa, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 703

4 Punta Gorda, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area 790

5 Allegan, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area 522

6 Roseburg, OR Micropolitan Statistical Area 481

7 Dunn, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area 472

8 Willimantic, CT Micropolitan Statistical Area 518

9 Concord, NH Micropolitan Statistical Area 642

10 Gainesville, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area 740