The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched a new online “dashboard” that makes certain data received from active duty servicemembers and veterans publicly available. The data come from the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network, which aggregates consumer complaints received directly from consumers, as well as data contributions received from others (including state attorneys general, the CFPB, and other government agencies, watchdog groups, and private companies).
The newly available dashboard allows a user to filter by status: (1) Active Duty Service Members; (2) Veterans and Military Retirees; or (3) All Military (plus families and reservists). The tool shows the number and type of reports, as well as information on aggregate and median reported losses (as dollar amounts).
A few points to note:
- From 2015 through Q2 2020, reports show median fraud losses for veterans and retirees of $750, while the number for active duty military was $500;
- For active duty service members, business opportunities/work-at-home plans, followed by romance scams, had the highest median reported loss amounts ($3,950 and $3,200, respectively), while for veterans and retirees the highest reported median losses involved non-timeshare real estate ($12,427);
- Across all status categories, the most frequently reported scam type was government imposters, followed by unwanted telemarketing calls; and
- Among identity theft reports, the top source of reports was new credit card accounts.
In total, this data set includes 680,094 reports, of which 292,942 are fraud reports. 45,240 reports indicated monetary loss, totaling $279.6 million. The dashboard will be updated with new data quarterly.