he fastest-growing crime in America topped the list of consumer fraud complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission in 2002. Incidents of identity theft doubled over the previous year and accounted for the largest percentage of fraud-related complaints, according to the FTC's annual report detailing consumer complaints.

Identity-theft victims in all 50 states and the District of Columbia said that when thieves stole their personal information, it was used in credit card fraud more often than for any other purpose - such as to open accounts with phone companies, utilities and banks; to forge government documents to get benefits; in employment-related situations; or in loan frauds. Credit card fraud was cited in 37% to 50% of all incidents reported state by state in the FTC report.

The FTC's Consumer Sentinel database compiles and analyzes information collected on complaints filed with the FTC and more than 100 other organizations. The data showed, for instance, that out of the 380,103 complaints filed regarding fraud, 161,819 were related to identity theft last year. That's an increase of almost 88% over the 86,198 incidents reported in 2001. Overall, consumers reported losses from all types of fraud last year at greater that $343 million, according to the data.

Consumer fraud complaints are broken down by category in the report. Identity theft comprised the largest portion of all complaints by far - 43% - followed by Internet auction fraud at 13%.

The increase in identity theft last year can be explained by several factors. J. Howard Beales III, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the sharp rise in the number of complaints from 2001 to 2002 might be attributable to the success of his organization's outreach programs.

"More people know where to complain about fraud and identity theft. More complaints give us a more complete picture of the types of fraud that are occurring, the characteristics of fraud victims and the companies that are appropriate targets for law enforcement," he said in a statement.

Beales also suggested the increase might have something to do with better cooperation from agencies both contributing and utilizing information on the Consumer Sentinel database. Forty percent of all the complaints in the database were contributed by the Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General, the Internet Fraud Complaint Center, Better Business Bureaus from all over the U.S. and other organizations, he said.

The methods used by identity thieves also are becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it an easier crime to commit. Another consideration is misuse of financial or personal information stored in databases; employees with access to many customers' or users' personal data can pose a large threat to the security of that information.

According to the report, Washington, D.C., residents are more likely to become victims of identity theft than anywhere else in the country, followed by California and Arizona. People between the ages of 30 and 39 reported 27% of all identity-theft complaints; people between ages 18 and 29 filed 26% of the complaints, and those between ages 40 and 49 filed 22% of them. The FTC makes information in the Consumer Sentinel database available to law enforcement agencies domestically and overseas.