Consumers in Maine reported losing $3.3 million to scams and fraud in 2019, according to data released Thursday by the Federal Trade Commission.
Maine residents filed 7,862 complaints with the commission last year, the FTC said. The most common category of complaints received from Maine consumers was impostor scams; followed by identity theft; prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries; online shopping and negative reviews; and telephone and mobile services, the FTC said.
Maine consumers who filed FTC complaints received a total of $360,000 in refund checks from the commission in 2019, it said.
Reports from around the country about consumer protection issues are a key resource for FTC investigations that stop illegal activities and, when possible, provide refunds to consumers, the commission said in a written statement.
A core part of the FTC’s mission is to return money to consumers who are harmed by illegal business practices, it said. Over the past four years, consumers nationwide have cashed more than $1 billion in FTC refund checks.
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