Top Telemarketing Scams of 2005
From the National Fraud Information Center
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Category |
% of All Complaints |
Average Loss |
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Prizes/Sweepstakes |
31 % |
$4,990 |
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Requests for payment to claim prizes that never materialize |
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Scholarships/Grants |
11% |
$366 |
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Falsely promise to help get |
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Magazine Sales |
9% |
$120 |
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Misrepresent cost of subscriptions or pretend to be publisher offering renewals |
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Credit Card Offers |
9% |
$282 |
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False promises of credit cards even if credit is bad, for a fee |
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Fake Check Scams |
7% |
#3,714 |
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Consumers paid with phony checks for work or items sold, instructed to wire money back |
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Advance Fee Loans |
6% |
$1,414 |
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False promises of loans, even if credit is bad, for an fee upfront |
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Lotteries/Lottery Clubs |
5% |
$2,430 |
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Requests for payment to claim lottery winnings or get help to win, often foreign lotteries |
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Work-at-Home Plans |
3% |
$348 |
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Materials sold on false promises of big profits working at home |
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Phishing |
3% |
$588 |
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Calls pretending to be from well-known source asking to confirm personal information |
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Travel/Vacations |
2% |
$885 |
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Offers of free or discount travel that never materialize |
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Other 2005 Trends
The total loss in 2005 was $4,921,932, compared to $2,561,835 in 2004.
The average loss in 2005 was $2,892, compared to $1,974 in 2004.
There were significantly more complaints in 2005: 4,587, compared to 2,814 in 2004.
The use of wire transfer in telemarketing fraud payments is growing. Among the Top 10 Scams, those with the most payment by wire were Fake Checks Scams (100 percent), Lotteries/Lottery Clubs (89 percent), Advance Fee Loans (78 percent), Prizes/Sweepstakes (69 percent).
In some of the Top 10 Scams, the predominant method of payment was bank debit, including Phishing (89 percent), Scholarships/Grants (66 percent), and Credit Card Offers (66 percent).
Among the Top 10 Scams, those with the most consumers age 60+ were: Magazine Sales (63 percent), Prizes/Sweepstakes (51 percent), and Phishing (45 percent).
Among the Top 10 Scams, those with the most consumers under age 30 were: Scholarships/Grants (31 percent), Travel/Vacations (30 percent), and Advance Fee Loans (28 percent), Credit Card Offers (27 percent), and Work-at-Home Plans (24 percent).
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