NEW YORK – It’s National Consumer Protection Week and New York Attorney General Letitia James has released the list of top 10 consumer fraud complaints received by her office in 2019.
“This top 10 list not only reflects the numerous ways in which consumers were unfortunately defrauded, cheated, and conned in 2019, but should serve as a warning sign for all consumers as we forge ahead into 2020,” said James.“Consumers who have helped identify and report issues to our office have been invaluable partners in our efforts to stop deceptive scams and will be vital in our efforts to stop fraudsters dead in their tracks going forward. My office will continue to use every tool at its disposable to protect New York consumers and enforce our laws.”
After analyzing consumer complaints received statewide throughout 2019, the Office of the New York Attorney General said it found Internet-related complaints topped the list for the 14th year in a row, with 4,436 complaints last year. That category covers a range of issues, including Internet services and service providers, data privacy and security, digital media, data breaches, and frauds through Internet manipulation.
Consumer-related service complaints were second on the list with 2,659 complaints, and includes areas such as banking, immigration services, security systems, technical repairs, and schools. Automobile sales, service, financing, and repairs ranked third with 2,510 complaints, followed by 1,910 landlord/tenant complaints, which included complaints about rent security deposits and tenant harassment.
Rounding out the top five were 1,811 utility-related complaints, which included complaints about cable and satellite companies, energy services and suppliers, and wireless phone carriers.
The Top 10 List
The following are the top 10 consumer complaints by category in 2019:
| RANKING | CATEGORY | NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS |
| 1 | Internet-Related (internet services and service providers, data privacy and security, digital media, data breaches, frauds through internet manipulation) | 4,436 |
| 2 |
Consumer-Related (security systems, tech repairs, immigration services, consignment shops) |
2,659 |
| 3 | Automobile (buying, leasing, repair, service contracts, rentals) | 2,510 |
| 4 |
Landlord/Tenant Disputes (security deposit releases, tenant-harassment) |
1,910 |
| 5 | Utilities (wireless and residential phones, energy servicers and suppliers, cable and satellite) | 1,811 |
| 6 |
Credit (debt collection, credit card billing, debt settlement and debt relief, payday loans, credit repair, credit reporting agencies, identity theft) |
1,206 |
| 7 | Retail Sales (any sale of goods: food, clothing, rent-to-own, online orders) | 1,091 |
| 8 |
Home Repair/Construction (home improvement services not delivered or done poorly) |
901 |
| 9 | Mail Order and Online Catalogs (purchases made via mail order or online catalog) | 593 |
| 10 |
Mortgage (mortgage modifications, mortgage and loan broker fraud, foreclosures) |
493 |