What Works

Consumer Sentinel Works

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Better Business Bureau, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the National Consumers League, and others joined forces to create the Consumer Sentinel website at www.consumer.gov. Consumer Sentinel is an innovative, international law enforcement fraud-fighting program. The site can be used for the following:

• Get the facts on consumer frauds including Internet cons, prize promotions, work-at-home schemes, telemarketing scams, and identity theft
  
• Report fraud complaints so they can be shared with law enforcement officials across the United States and around the world
  
• Learn how U.S., Canadian, and Australian law enforcers work together with private-sector companies and consumer organizations to combat fraud
  
• Identify trends and the types of complaints consumers file

Developed and maintained by the FTC, Consumer Sentinel collects information from 150 organizations. The site also offers links to related sites, a consumer action handbook, and information on filing a complaint online and safe Internet surfing for kids.

The FTC received more than 635,000 complaints from consumers in 2004, up from 516,740 in 2003. The majority of complaints fall into one of three categories: identity theft, Internet auctions, and Internet services complaints. Nearly 40 percent of the complaints were about identity theft. 

The Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse is the federal governments database for tracking identity theft complaints.  It began operation in November 2003. The FTC established the Identity Theft Toll-Free Hotline at 877-IDTHEFT (438-4338) to provide a central place in the federal government for identity theft victims to report their problems and receive helpful information. Complaints received from victims of identity theft via the hotline or the online complaint form at www.consumer.gov/idtheft/ are entered into the Data Clearinghouse, which is integrated with the Consumer Sentinel system. 

For more information, visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft/.