2017 Most Recent Top 10 Lists and Statistics of Consumer Complaints for Missouri, New York, Oregon, Ohio and Texas

2024 Most Recent State Statistics of Consumer Complaints of Frauds, Scams, Identity Theft and Other Consumer Problems

Missouri, New York, Oregon, Ohio and Texas

This page lists the most recent fraud, scam, identity theft and other consumer complaints available for each area (country, state, province, etc) that compiles the statistics. If your area's stats are not listed here, and you know where to find them, click here to let us know where they can be found.

Debt collection scams are the top complaint received by the Federal Trade Commission, which has released its 2017 annual report of complaints. using data collected in 2016. The FTC report gives national data, as well as a state-by-state accounting of top complaint categories and a listing of the metropolitan areas that generated the most complaints. This includes the top 50 metropolitan areas for both fraud complaints and identity theft complaints.

Below is the FTC report top ten consumer complaints, followed by those from states that publish a list. Click here for Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Michigan

Besides a description, the FTC (and some states) provide the total number of complaints they received and the percent each category is of the total. 

Federal (FTC)	Missouri	New York	Oregon	Ohio	Texas	Vermont
Debt collection 859,090 complaints 28 percent	1. No-Call Complaints (41,517) complaints from consumers regarding no-call violations and illegal telemarketing calls	1. Internet 4,605 complaints (internet services & service providers; data privacy & security; consumer frauds)	Imposter Scam Calls (5,049 complaints)	Automobile	1. Easy Credit. Online or in the classifieds, these ads all promise that you can get a loan no matter how bad your credit rating. The catch? You have to pay a fee up front. Advance fee loans are illegal. Don't send the money! This is not credit repair, it's credit disaster.	1. Computer Tech Support (version)
Imposter Scams 406,578 complaints 13 percent	2. Mail and Phone Solicitations (3,528) - Consumers continue to be inundated with mail, emails and telephone calls offering them 'valuable prizes.' Often, the mail looks official, as if it is from a government agency.  Foreign lottery promotions are the largest type of sweepstakes scams that affect consumers nationwide	2. Automobile 3,437 complaints (buying, leasing, repair, service contracts, rentals)	Telecomm (941 complaints)	Professional services	2. Phishing. No matter what they say, when they call or email wanting you to give them your social security, credit card, or bank account number, DON'T DO IT. Not for any reason, no matter who they say they are or why they say they need it. They will steal your identity (and your money).	2. Social Security Number Phishing
Identity Theft 399,225 complaints 13 percent	3. Financial/ Debt Collection (1,769) - Most of the complaints under this category involve debt collectors (856). Consumers indicate they have received calls from harassing collectors who are threatening and will repeatedly call attempting to collect a debt. Other complaints that fall under this category involved credit/debit card fees, pay day loans, credit repair companies and unauthorized use of credit/debit cards. Some of these complaints involved hidden fees and billing disputes as well.	3. Consumer- Related Services 2,444 complaints (security systems; restaurant/ catering services; tech repairs)	Automobile (572 complaints)	Collections, Credit Reporting, or Financial Services	3. Nigerian Fraud. A fleeing deposed government minister (or his widow) wants to deposit the treasury of a foreign country in your bank account. Anytime you have to send money to collect a huge windfall, you should STOP in your tracks.	3. Computer Tech Support
Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries 292,155 complaints 10 percent	4. Automobile Repair  or purchase (1,962) - Some of the complaints alleged consumers paid for repairs and that services provided were shoddy. Consumers reported repair companies that return vehicles to the consumer in a worse condition than how it was initially given to them. Other complaints involved consumers not receiving title to their vehicles at the time of sale	4. Landlord/ Tenant Disputes 2,005 complaints (Security deposit releases, tenant-harassment)	Financial Services (358 complaints)	Shopping, Food, or Beverages	4. Counterfeit Cashier's Checks. It looks like the real thing: a cashier's check drawn on a familiar bank is as good as gold, right? Wrong. The counterfeits in circulation today are very high quality forgeries. They might even fool your bank at first.	4. Legal Authority Imposter
Banks and Lenders 143,987 complaints 5 percent	5. Identity Theft (1,669) - Identity theft occurs when someone takes another's personal information such as Social Security number, date of birth, or credit card number, bank account information and uses it to commit fraud. This past year our office saw a significant increase in income tax identity theft (1,162) and security data breach (239) complaints.	5. Utilities 1,730 complaints (Wireless and Residential Phones; Energy Servicers & Suppliers; Cable and Satellite)	Health Related (300 complaints)	Internet, Utilities, Phone, or TV Services	5. Bogus Debts. You may receive a threatening letter demanding payment on a debt you never heard of. Don't pay it. There are scammers who will demand payment on totally fictitious debts in the hopes that a few people will be scared into paying.	5. Sweepstakes/Lotteries
Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries 141,643 complaints 5 percent	6. Communications / Technology/ Online Services (1,657) - A large portion of these complaints involve telephone cramming and billing practices (702), when consumers who received a phone bill for services that they did not order, or unauthorized fees on their telephone bill from third parties. Cable and Satellite complaints (365) involved billing disputes and misleading promotions.	6. Credit 1,606 complaints (debt collection; credit card billing; debt settlement; payday loans; credit repair; credit reporting agencies; identity theft)	Collection Agencies (232 complaints)	Household Goods or Property Improvement	6. Government Grants. A scammer may contact you to say that you have been awarded, or can apply for, a government grant. The scammer may offer to help you get the grant. Government grants are not awarded to people who have not applied for them, no one can appply for you, and there is never a fee.	6. Identity Theft
Shop-at-home and Cataglog Sales 109,831 complaints 4 percent	7. Real Estate and Construction (1,300) - Complaints involving home repair contractors is our most common type of real estate complaint. These complaints often involve storm chasers going door-to-door asking for money up front and providing little to no work. Other complaints involve contractors who provide shoddy workmanship or fail to honor warranties.	7. Retail Sales 1,214 complaints (any sale of goods: food, clothing, rent-to-own)	International Money Transfer Schemes (226 complaints)	Identity Theft	7. Foreign Lotteries. You did not win the foreign lottery! Anytime you are asked to send money in order to collect your winnings in a lottery or sweepstakes, STOP. It is a scam called advance fee fraud. You do not have to pay an up-front fee to receive real lottery or sweepstakes winnings. Don't be persuaded or bullied by a smooth operator on the phone.	7. Online Listings
Automobile -Related Complaints 94,673 complaints 3 percent	8. Retail/ Wholesale (1,258) - Most of the complaints involve purchase made through internet, telephone or mail, and involve late deliveries or products never delivered. Other complaints involve the purchases of appliances, furniture and other items in which there have been warranty problems, defective products that either did not work as advertised or were never delivered. Complaints also involved products not always ringing up at price advertised when they checked out at the register. Other retail related complaints included issues with rebates, coupons, and gift cards.	8. Home Repair/ Construction 1069 complaints (home improvement services not delivered or done poorly)	Auto Repair (203 complaints)	Sweepstakes or Prizes and other scams	8. Home Repair. Beware of unsolicited door-to-door home improvement offers. If it is a one-time offer, available only today, or a special deal on materials leftover from another job, be doubly cautious. If your home needs repairs, your best bet is to call more than one reputable roofing or driveway or other home repair company in your area and check their references.	8. Medicare Card Phishing Medicare scam text messages
Credit Bureaus and related 49,679 complaints 2 percent	9. Travel/ Timeshare (1,125) - Timeshare and travel club complaints continue to increase. Most complaints allege consumers were promised guaranteed resale of previously owned timeshare; maintenance fees increase continuously, undisclosed fees, and other services that were promised but not provided.	9. Mortgage 921 complaints (mortgage modifications; mortgage and loan broker fraud; foreclosures)	Home Ownership Issues (192 complaints)		9. Business Opportunities. Jobs or business opportunities that require you to pay up front for training, equipment, or "kits"; are highly suspect, especially if you found the offer on the Internet and have no independent information about the company involved. Legitimate employers hardly ever require new hires to pay to start the job.	9. Family Emergency/Imposter
Television and electronic media 49,546 complaints 2 percent	10. Health (1,040) - This year the Division received more complaints concerning billing issues concerning hospital and doctor visits, as well as supplemental purchases. Many complaints involved consumers who paid for health club memberships only to have the club shut down soon after accepting their money.	10. Mail Order 715 complaints (purchases made online or from a catalog)	Construction Contractors (164 complaints)		10. Shopping Sprees. Telephone solicitations offer a $500 (or similar amount) "Shopping Spree," supposedly sponsored by a known company or even governmental agency. The caller tries to get the consumer's bank account number to collect a small fee, supposedly for the shipping and handling of vouchers.  Shopping spree promotions usually are fake.	10. Auto Warranty Expiration
Published annually in March	Attorney General top 10 consumer complaints reported to the office: number of complaints and description	Attorney General Schneiderman top 10 consumer complaints reported to the office: followed by the number of complaints and description	Consumer complaints reported to the AG and number of complaints	OH AGl Office Complaints (top 8) .	From the Texas Attorney General's office

A complete list of all complaint categories is available on page six of the report.

The FTC enters complaints into the a target="_blank" href= "https://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/cfrrd.php?PAGGE=/Top10ListConsumerComplaintsPart2.php&NAME=Consumer Sentinel Network&URL=https://www.ftc.gov//sentinel">Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database that is available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies across the country. Agencies use the data to research cases, identify victims and track possible targets.

And please let us know about any suspicious calls or emails you receive.  We look for patterns so that we can alert the authorities and victims to new scams, before it is too late!

For a comprehensive list of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.