Americans lost at least $548 million to identity theft and consumer fraud last year as the Internet provided new victims for age-old scams, according to government statistics released Tuesday.The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it received 635,000 consumer complaints in 2004, as criminals sold nonexistent products through online auction sites like eBay or went shopping with stolen credit cards.
Identity theft--the practice of running up bills or committing crimes in someone else's name--topped the list with 247,000 complaints, up 15 percent from the previous year.
By comparison, fraud and identity theft cost consumers at least $437 million in 2003.
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