Florida outpaces New York on consumer fraud complaints

Floridians filed fraud and identity theft complaints nearly three times more often than New Yorkers did last year, according to a new federal report.

New York consumers made 524 complaints for every 100,000 residents. Florida had the highest rate of fraud complaints in the United States with 1,510 for every 100,000 residents. Nationwide, there were to 3 million complaints filed last year, the Federal Trade Commission’s report indicated.

The FTC puts out an annual analysis using millions of consumer complaints collected by more than 50 law enforcement agencies and private companies. The reports are voluntary and not verified by the FTC. The median amount of fraud reported was $400.

Complaints were up 3 percent in New York, 49 percent in Florida and 17 percent nationally compared to 2014. The FTC says the increase in complaints came largely from an Android-based app, PrivacyStar, that lets users block suspected scammers and report details to the FTC.

Three out of four people who filed complaints said they were contacted by alleged scammers by phone last year. Only 8 percent of reported fraud was committed via email, complainants said, down from 23 percent during 2014.

According to the complaints, criminals scammed money and personal information most frequently by citing claims of outstanding debt or by posing as government agents. Altogether, identity theft, debt collection and imposter scams made up half of filed complaints. Stolen identities were most often used to sign up for government documents or benefits, followed by credit cards.

The reports are filed by individuals, but corporations have been targets of data breach and identity thefts. Last year on Long Island, North Shore Hospital, now known as Northwell Health, joined the list of data breach victims such as Target, Home Depot, JPMorgan Chase and government agencies such as the State Department, raising concerns over cyber security among business owners.

How the states rank on fraud complaints

Hover over bars to see the number of complaints per 100,000 population

Nearly two-thirds of those filing complaints said they paid alleged scammers using wire transfer last year, while only 29 percent of victims said they so the year before.

The FTC recommends several protocols for consumers to follow to avoid being defrauded. In case of any lawful debt collection, for example, a written validation notice must be issued by your creditor for the amount you owe, and the debt collectors must be able to give you their physical address and business phone number.

Fraud complaints by state

The rate and number of complaints filed in 2015, along with state rank

State	Fraud complaint rate	Fraud complaints	Rank
Florida	1,510.2	306,133	1
Georgia	1,208.3	123,429	2
Michigan	1,143.6	113,474	3
Texas	941.3	258,579	4
Nevada	836.9	24,194	5
Delaware	807.8	7,641	6
Rhode Island	764.7	8,078	7
California	750.2	293,662	8
Maryland	749.0	44,985	9
Alabama	738.1	35,865	10
Tennessee	670.3	44,241	11
Louisiana	663.7	30,999	12
Virginia	645.3	54,093	13
New Jersey	626.5	56,121	14
Pennsylvania	626.3	80,180	15
Arizona	623.5	42,575	16
Missouri	609.3	37,068	17
Ohio	606.8	70,470	18
New Mexico	594.1	12,387	19
Colorado	592.6	32,333	20
New Hampshire	572.0	7,611	21
Massachusetts	557.6	37,884	22
Connecticut	554.1	19,898	23
South Carolina	553.3	27,091	24
North Carolina	550.3	55,266	25
New York	524.9	103,918	26
Illinois	517.2	66,510	27
Mississippi	516.3	15,450	28
Indiana	511.1	33,836	29
Oregon	506.0	20,387	30
Washington	505.7	36,264	31
Oklahoma	493.6	19,307	32
Arkansas	478.4	14,248	33
Kentucky	467.2	20,674	34
Maine	447.1	5,943	35
West Virginia	446.8	8,240	36
Montana	442.6	4,572	37
Wisconsin	442.6	25,544	37
Minnesota	438.2	24,055	39
Kansas	426.9	12,430	40
Idaho	423.1	7,002	41
Wyoming	415.5	2,435	42
Vermont	406.7	2,546	43
Nebraska	403.3	7,648	44
Utah	396.2	11,870	45
Alaska	395.0	2,917	46
Hawaii	371.3	5,315	47
South Dakota	356.0	3,056	48
Iowa	349.2	10,909	49
North Dakota	278.8	2,110	50