Each day this BBB receives about 80 complaints which have to be read by a live person to make sure we can handle the complaint.

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In 2009 there were 1,738 victims of identity (ID) theft in Utah.  That’s down from 1,775 in 2008 – while not a huge decline, any decrease is good news!

This is based on the Consumer Sentinel Network, which is a compilation of law enforcement, BBBs and other government agency's complaints. 

The top five types of ID Theft are still essentially the same:

1. Credit Card Fraud
2. Employment-Related Fraud
3. Phone or Utilities Fraud
4. Government Documents or Benefits Fraud
5. Bank Fraud

While you might think that older folks might be more of a target, the largest age group which was victimized was 20 – 29 year olds. 

So, be careful with your personal information.  You can read the whole report at: http://www.ftc.gov/sentinel/reports/sentinel-annual-reports/sentinel-cy2009.pdf.  It’s a large file (4.80 GB), so be prepared.  It shows complaint counts for fraud and ID theft for each state.

“Free” credit report advertisements are catchy! Those tunes and the whack-a-mole theme probably get people to watch the TV ads and ultimately contact the companies involved. But the Federal Trade Commission announced two weeks ago that they are changing the Free Credit Reports Rule.

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Complaints are up 29.6%, reliability report requests are up 22.35% and overall BBB instances of service are up 45% to 1.6 million! The BBB of Utah is pumping out information for businesses and consumers.

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I had no idea that I was this famous – two Who’s Who publications contacting me within days of each other! Both publications are vanity awards. The offers basically exist to generate money for those running the publications (both supposedly out of New York). The award itself has no true value other than to appeal to your ego. If you agree to have your name published the company will send you a plaque, but you have to pay for it!

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