Scams for every season

Never mind Bernie Madoff - the most popular cons are a lot less convoluted. Identity theft, which could be as basic as swiping somebody's credit card number, remained in the top spot in 2010, accounting for 19 percent of all complaints to the Federal Trade Commission. From Slate:

Identity theft is well ahead of deceptive, bullying, or outright phony debt collection, the category that holds the No. 2 spot. Debt collection prompted 11 percent of all consumer complaints to the FTC in 2010--a slight uptick from 2008 and 2009, when misbehaving debt collectors prompted 9 percent of all consumer complaints. With consumer debt headed downward, it seems unlikely debt collection will maintain its privileged spot for much longer.

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It's a relief to see prizes, sweepstakes, and lotteries at No. 4. Maybe some of the old craft ("To collect your prize just pay this fee!") has not been lost to posterity after all. An interesting new wrinkle is that the con man (or woman) now pretends to work for some government agency that is supervising delivery of your sweepstakes winnings! "Now if you'll just wire the money to this foreign country. ..." It does make you wonder whether humankind is getting, well, dumber.