United States - FTC Releases International Consumer Complaints Report for 2013

On May 22, the FTC released a new and expanded version of its annual cross-border fraud complaint report for 2013. 

The report examines trends in cross-border complaints from the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel database, including complaints reported through econsumer.gov, a website established by International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN). Econsumer.gov is available in English, French, Korean, Japanese, Polish, Spanish, and Turkish.

For the first time, the report provides information about complaints against companies by geographic region, including Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, and Latin America. In 2013, 62 percent of the cross-border complaints in Consumer Sentinel were by U.S. consumers against foreign companies.Another 25 percent were by foreign consumers against companies in the U.S. or Canada.Thirteen percent were by foreign consumers against companies in other foreign countries.Complaints by U.S. consumers against companies located in Canada were 21 percent of the total.Complaints by Canadian consumers against companies located in the United States were 11 percent.In addition to helping the FTC and other law enforcement partners spot trends, consumer complaints provide information that helps agencies bring law enforcement actions against specific fraudsters.  

FTC staff released the report at a meeting of ICPEN held in Panama City last month.  At the meeting, consumer protection authorities from around the world reviewed the international complaint trends to identify issues of importance for the network and its members.