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Top Telemarketing Scams of 2005
From the National Fraud Information Center
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Category |
% of All Complaints |
Average Loss |
| Prizes/Sweepstakes |
31 % |
$4,990 |
| Requests for payment to claim prizes that never materialize | ||
| Scholarships/Grants |
11% |
$366 |
| Falsely promise to help get scholarships or government educational grants, for a fee |
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Magazine Sales |
9% |
$120 |
| Misrepresent cost of subscriptions or pretend to be publisher offering renewals |
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| Credit Card Offers |
9% |
$282 |
| False promises of credit cards even if credit is bad, for a fee | ||
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| Fake Check Scams |
7% |
#3,714 |
| 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 |
| False promises of loans, even if credit is bad, for an fee upfront | ||
| Lotteries/Lottery Clubs |
5% |
$2,430 |
| Requests for payment to claim lottery winnings or get help to win, often foreign lotteries | ||
| Work-at-Home Plans |
3% |
$348 |
| Materials sold on false promises of big profits working at home | ||
| Phishing |
3% |
$588 |
| Calls pretending to be from well-known source asking to confirm personal information | ||
| Travel/Vacations |
2% |
$885 |
| Offers of free or discount travel that never materialize |
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).
