Internet generated most complaints to NY AG last year

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For the eleventh year in a row, internet-related problems topped the 2016 list of the most common consumer fraud complaints to the New York Attorney General‘s office.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman released the list on Monday, at the start of National Consumer Protection Week,

“This serves as a reminder. Fraudsters are always looking for ways to line their pockets at the expense of unsuspecting consumers,” Schneiderman said in a news release. “The best weapon against scams is an informed consumer — and the law.”

The No. 1 category of complaints — internet-related scams — included 4,605 complaints. That was closely followed by complaints about automobile sales, service, financing, and repairs (3,437).

Many of the car-related complaints were filed by Volkswagen consumers after Schneiderman announced an investigation into Volkswagen’s installation of software devices that caused its diesel vehicles to cheat environmental pollution tests.

The AG’s office was included in a series of partial settlements with Volkswagen and its Audi and Porsche affiliates, which enabled more than 21,500 New York car owners to sell their vehicles back to the maker at pre-scandal, fair-market value, plus receive a cash payment of at least $5,100.

The next most common type of fraud complaint was for consumer-related services (2,444), which include complaints about restaurant/catering services, technology repairs, dry cleaners, furniture repair, and hair and nail salons.

Fourth was landlord/tenant complaints that include allegations of tenant harassment (2,005). Utilities-related complaints (1,730), which include complaints about cable and satellite companies, energy services and suppliers, and wireless phone carriers, rounded out the top five.

It’s not in the top 10, but the Attorney General’s office is continuing to receive consumer complaints about two common schemes known as the IRS scam and the Grandparent scam, which target consumers by phone.

In the IRS scam, the caller poses as a representative of the U.S. Treasury Department, IRS, or other government agency, demanding money for unpaid taxes and threatening consumers with arrest if they do not pay up. These scammers often use fake government logos in their emails and caller ID spoofing so that the victim’s caller ID box says “Internal Revenue Service” or displays the phone number of the Internal Revenue Service.

In the Grandparent scam, a grandparent receives a call from someone posing as a grandchild claiming that he or she is traveling and facing an urgent need for money — to make bail, pay a fine, or pay for automobile repairs or medical expenses. The caller begs the grandparent not to tell his or her parents. In both scams, the victims are then given instructions to send funds to the scammers.

Another area of consumer complaints involves student loan debt. There are scam student debt relief companies that offer to lower or eliminate students’ monthly payments, often for an up-front fee. They use official sounding names to make it sound like they are a government agency.

Counting cons

Top 10 consumer complaints to the New York State Attorney General’s office in 2016, by category.

1. Internet: Internet services and service providers, data privacy and security, consumer frauds — 4,605
2. Automobile: Buying, leasing, repair, service contracts, rentals — 3,437
3. Consumer-related services: Security systems, restaurant/catering services, technology repairs — 2,444
4. Landlord/tenant disputes: Security deposits, tenant-harassment — 2,005
5. Utilities: Wireless and residential phones, energy servicers and suppliers, cable and satellite — 1,730
6. Credit: Debt collection, credit card billing, debt settlement, payday loans, credit repair, credit reporting agencies, identity theft — 1,606
7. Retail Sales: Any sale of goods, food, clothing, rent-to-own — 1,214
8. Home repair/construction: Home improvement services not delivered or done poorly — 1,069
9. Mortgage: Mortgage modifications, mortgage and loan broker fraud, foreclosures — 921
10. Mail Order: Purchases made online or from a catalog, 715.

Source: New York State Attorney General