The Sixth Annual African Consumer Protection Dialolgue Conference Deon Woods Bell Lilongwe, Malawi 6-8 September 2014

The Sixth Annual African Consumer Protection

Dialolgue Conference

Deon Woods Bell Lilongwe, Malawi

6-8 September 2014

Overview• Consumer Complaint Databases

o Econsumer.govo Consumer Sentinel Network

• Consumer Complaints as Enforcement Tools• New Developments in Consumer Complaint

Sharing• African Consumer Complaint Data

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• econsumer.gov certified government law enforcement and regulatory agencies in ICPEN member countries may accessthe complaints to investigate, uncover new scams, and spot trends in fraud.

• Participation by agencies from 30 countries.

What is econsumer.gov ?

Consumer Complaints As An Enforcement Tool• Econsumer.gov/Consumer Sentinel

database helps us identify:

o Patterns and trends in consumer

fraud and identity theft

o The issues and actors causing the

greatest harm to consumers

• The complaint collection process also

helps the FTC assist consumers by

providing them with educational

materials6

How members Use

Complaint Information

• Staff who are investigating a business can search the

appropriate complaint databases

• In some instances, staff calls a complaining consumer

for more information about the business

• Consumers voluntarily provide us with this information –

none of it is mandatory (e.g., they can submit

anonymous complaints)

• In some instances, the FTC asks consumers who have

filed complaints with the FTC to serve as witnesses in

the cases we file in federal court

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New Developments in

Consumer Complaint

Sharing

• The Consumer Sentinel Network (CSN) is a database of consumer complaint data and other investigative information operated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission), the incoming complaints are shared with participating consumer protection law enforcers.

• There are several subsets of complaints within the CSNo econsumer.gov complaints Certified

econsumer.gov o General consumer complaints, including

complaints about cross-border fraudo Spam messages forwarded by consumers

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New Developments in Consumer

Complaint Sharing• Current certified econsumer.gov

members only have access to econsumer.gov complaints, alerts, and the spam database in the CSN.

• We are working to expand access to more parts of the database to include cross-border fraud consumer complaints that includes complaints from consumers and data contributors

• This means a larger pool of complaints to use for investigations, and to spot complaint trends and practices.

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Complaint Data

Rank Company Location Complaints

51 Egypt 19451 Vietnam 19453 Slovakia 17454 Sri Lanka 17255 Brazil 15856 Bulgaria 15457 Denmark 14957 Morocco 14959 Lebanon 14360 Senegal 14261 Guatemala 13362 Nicaragua 12963 Korea, Republic of 12564 Czech Republic 11965 Chile 11066 Kenya 10867 Bolivia 10768 Togo 10669 Bangladesh 10070 Belize 9571 Austria 9471 Trinidad and Tobago 9473 Saudi Arabia 8874 Argentina 8675 Hungary 8276 Finland 8077 Cayman Islands 7778 Burkina Faso 7679 Norway 7280 Uganda 6981 Iraq 6882 Georgia 6682 Qatar 6684 Bahamas 6484 Lithuania 6486 Latvia 6387 El Salvador 6188 Taiwan 5889 Cambodia 5789 Lao People's Democratic Republic 5791 Syrian Arab Republic 5292 Honduras 5193 Uruguay <5094 Virgin Islands (British) <5095 Luxembourg <5096 Iran <5097 Dominica <5098 Belarus <5099 Algeria <50100 Guinea <50

Rank Company Location Complaints

1 Canada 21,6752 United Kingdom 10,1993 Nigeria 9,8844 China 6,5385 India 6,0656 Jamaica 5,2987 Mexico 4,4848 Philippines 3,1539 Ghana 2,54210 Spain 2,06511 Cameroon 2,01712 Italy 1,71913 Benin 1,45914 France 1,31615 Dominican Republic 1,30116 Malaysia 1,23017 Australia 1,22518 Germany 1,22219 South Africa 1,19120 Russian Federation 1,10421 Ukraine 1,00322 Costa Rica 76023 United Arab Emirates 75324 Peru 66825 Netherlands 62226 Haiti 56427 Afghanistan 53028 Ireland 51929 Switzerland 51630 Turkey 45031 Cote D’Ivoire 41432 Portugal 39533 Panama 38034 Nepal 37535 Romania 36536 Japan 36237 Macedonia 32738 Cyprus 31938 Greece 31940 Pakistan 30041 Indonesia 29242 Sweden 27643 Ecuador 26944 New Zealand 26645 Belgium 26146 Thailand 24547 Israel 23648 Poland 23448 Singapore 23450 Colombia 222

Fraud Complaints Reported Against Top 100 Non-U.S. Company Locations

January 1 – December 31, 2013

Federal Trade Commission Released August 2014Note: Company country names appear as reported by consumers and may not reflect where the company is actually located.

Top Products or Services for Fraud Complaints ReportedAgainst the Top Company Locations in Africa1,2


Rank Product or Service Complaints

1 Impostor: Family\Friend 1,5952 Romance Scams 1,3013 Foreign Money Offers 1,0144 Shop-at-Home\Catalog Sales 5305 Internet Auction 505

Top Products or Services for Fraud Complaints Reported Against Companies Located in Nigeria

Note: Company country locations appear as reported by consumers and may not reflect where the company is actually located.

1Complaints may be coded under multiple product service codes.

Federal Trade Commission Released August 2014


1 Impostor: Family\Friend 6892 Romance Scams 6753 Foreign Money Offers 2244 Internet Auction 895 Advance-Fee Loans, Credit Arrangers 62

Top Products or Services for Fraud Complaints Reported Against Companies Located in Ghana

2“Africa” includes complaints where consumers reported the company country location as Algeria, Angola, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia or Zimbabwe. Note it is possible that not all countries have complaints in the system for the period the report covers.


1 Shop-at-Home\Catalog Sales 8942 Internet Auction 6773 Foreign Money Offers <204 Business Opportunities\Work-At-Home Plans <205 Advance-Fee Loans, Credit Arrangers <20

Top Products or Services for Fraud Complaints Reported Against Companies Located in Cameroon


1 Internet Auction 4662 Advance-Fee Loans, Credit Arrangers 1193 Shop-at-Home\Catalog Sales 1144 Impostor: Government 835 Romance Scams 53

Top Products or Services for Fraud Complaints Reported Against Companies Located in Benin

Rank Consumer Location Complaints

51 Croatia 10152 Taiwan 10053 Costa Rica 9354 Cyprus 8755 Kenya 8455 Kuwait 8457 Ecuador 7558 Czech Republic 7359 Sri Lanka 7160 El Salvador 6361 Bangladesh 6261 Vietnam 6263 Qatar 6164 Guatemala 5965 Dominican Republic 5865 Ghana 5867 Iran 5668 Jordan 5568 Latvia 5570 Uruguay 5471 Jamaica 5371 Slovakia 5373 Mauritius 5274 Kazakhstan 5074 Lebanon 5076 Lithuania <5077 Slovenia <5078 Albania <5079 Bahrain <5080 Panama <5081 Estonia <5081 Honduras <5083 Armenia <5083 Bahamas <5083 Bolivia <5086 Azerbaijan <5087 Malta <5088 Oman <5089 Belarus <5089 Georgia <5091 Afghanistan <5091 Uganda <5093 Bosnia and Herzegovina <5093 Luxembourg <5093 Macedonia <5096 Morocco <5097 Algeria <5097 Tanzania <5097 Zambia <50100 Nepal <50100 Tunisia <50

Rank Consumer Location Complaints

1 Canada 31,2752 United Kingdom 4,6563 Australia 3,5874 India 2,2005 Italy 1,4966 France 1,1347 Mexico 1,0958 Brazil 8559 Germany 75710 Russian Federation 67411 South Africa 67312 Spain 61313 China 56414 Philippines 54215 Israel 52416 New Zealand 50617 Netherlands 48418 Pakistan 42419 Argentina 39920 Sweden 35021 Japan 33922 Romania 31723 Switzerland 30424 Malaysia 30125 Colombia 30026 Belgium 29627 United Arab Emirates 29528 Portugal 29329 Singapore 29130 Turkey 27731 Greece 26632 Saudi Arabia 25733 Bulgaria 25534 Indonesia 25435 Ukraine 23936 Ireland 23237 Nigeria 22638 Denmark 22439 Korea, Republic of 18940 Norway 18641 Egypt 17842 Chile 17443 Poland 16244 Thailand 16045 Hungary 14746 Venezuela 14647 Finland 14548 Austria 12249 Peru 12050 Trinidad and Tobago 116

Fraud Complaints Reported For Top 100 Non-U.S. Consumer Locations


Note: Consumer country names appear as reported by consumers.


Top Products or Services in All ComplaintsReported Against Companies Located in Africa1



Note: Company country locations appear as reported by consumers and may not reflect where the company is actually located.Federal Trade Commission Released August 2014

Product or Service Complaints

Impostor: Family\Friend 2,649Romance Scams 2,280Internet Auction 1,990Shop-at-Home\Catalog Sales 1,714Foreign Money Offers 1,503Advance-Fee Loans, Credit Arrangers 583Lotteries\Lottery Ticket Buying Clubs 431Real Estate (not Timeshares) 431Impostor: Government 430Housing 369Business Opportunities\Work-At-Home Plans 342Prizes\Sweepstakes\Gifts 288Invest: Other 218Employ Agencies\Job Counsel\Overseas Work 208Unsolicited Email 107Counterfeit Check Scams 97Internet Information Services 79Property\Inheritance Tracers 79Impostor: Business 50Grants: Non-Educational 39

Product or Service ComplaintsImpostor: Family\Friend 1,651Internet Auction 942Romance Scams 818Foreign Money Offers 736Shop-at-Home\Catalog Sales 678Advance-Fee Loans, Credit Arrangers 368Lotteries\Lottery Ticket Buying Clubs 238Invest: Other 194Housing 177Prizes\Sweepstakes\Gifts 175Business Opportunities\Work-At-Home Plans 120Employ Agencies\Job Counsel\Overseas Work 71Unsolicited Email 44Impostor: Government 38Impostor: Business 37Internet Information Services 28Property\Inheritance Tracers 27Counterfeit Check Scams 25Telemarketing Practices <20Recovery\Refund Companies <20

Top Products or Services in All ComplaintsReported Against Companies Located in Africa1

January 1 – June 30, 2014


Note: Company country locations appear as reported by consumers and may not reflect where the company is actually located.Federal Trade Commission Released August 2014

Consumer Age in All ComplaintsReported Against Companies Located in Africa1

January 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014

2Percentages are based on the total number of consumers reporting their age: CY-2013 = 8,964 and January-June 2014 = 3,930. Of the total number of complaints reported against companies located in Africa, 41% of consumers reported their age during January-June 2014, and 47% reported their age for CY-2013.




Consumer Age Range Complaints Percentages2 Complaints Percentages2

19 and Under 431 5% 200 5%20 - 29 1,840 21% 773 20%30 - 39 1,521 17% 706 18%40 - 49 1,780 20% 748 19%50 - 59 1,847 21% 827 21%60 - 69 1,279 14% 569 14%70 and Over 266 3% 107 3%Total Reporting Age 8,964 3,930

January-June 2014CY-2013

Consumer Country Complaints Percentages2 Complaints Percentages2

United States 14,044 77% 6,586 74%Canada 1,275 7% 781 9%Italy 584 3% 268 3%United Kingdom 538 3% 226 3%Australia 274 2% 99 1%South Africa 154 <1% 98 1%France 84 <1% 58 <1%Germany 60 <1% 49 <1%Spain 46 <1% 47 <1%Switzerland 48 <1% 38 <1%Belgium 28 <1% 33 <1%Philippines 29 <1% 32 <1%Mexico 32 <1% 26 <1%Russian Federation 43 <1% 26 <1%Netherlands 70 <1% 22 <1%Nigeria 39 <1% <20 <1%Brazil 37 <1% <20 <1%Pakistan 45 <1% <20 <1%Portugal 39 <1% <20 <1%Puerto Rico 36 <1% <20 <1%Denmark 41 <1% <20 <1%Egypt 50 <1% <20 <1%

CY-2013 January-June 2014

Top Consumer Countries in All ComplaintsReported Against Companies Located in Africa1

January 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014



2Percentages are based on the total number of consumers reporting their country: CY-2013 = 18,263 and January-June 2014 = 8,876. Of the total number of complaints reported against companies located in Africa, 93% of consumers reported their country during January-June 2014, and 95% reported their country for CY-2013.


Company’s Method of Contacting Consumers in All ComplaintsReported Against Companies Located in Africa1

January 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014

2Percentages are based on the total number of consumers reporting the company’s method of initial contact: CY-2013 = 7,771 and January-June 2014 = 3,291. Of the total number of complaints reported against companies located in Africa, 33% of consumers reported this information during January-June 2014 and 40% in CY-2013.

Note: Company country locations are as reported by consumers and may not reflect where the company is actually located.



Contact Method Complaints Percentages2 Complaints Percentages

2

E-mail 5,607 72% 2,221 67%Mail 81 1% 39 1%Internet - Web Site/Others 1,462 19% 674 20%Phone 345 4% 195 6%Other 276 4% 162 5%Total Reporting Contact Method 7,771 3,291


Method of Consumer Payment in All ComplaintsReported Against Companies Located in Africa1

January 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014

2Percentages are based on the total number of consumers reporting method of payment: CY-2013 = 14,673 and January-June 2014 = 8,033. Of the total number of complaints reported against companies located in Africa, 81% of consumers reported this information during January-June 2014 and 76% in CY-2013.

3Wire Transfer figures include a significant number of complaints from data contributors MoneyGram International and Western Union Money Transfer. This may affect the distribution of the reported methods of payment.

Note: Company country locations are as reported by consumers and may not reflect where the company is actually located.



Payment Method Complaints Percentages2 Complaints Percentages

2

Bank Account Debit 261 2% 123 2%Cash\Cash Advance 491 3% 234 3%Check 70 <1% 22 <1%Credit Cards 184 1% 83 1%Internet\Mobile 29 <1% 16 <1%Money Order 470 3% 213 3%Prepaid Cards 5 <1% 3 <1%Telephone Bill 1 <1% 5 <1%

Wire Transfer3 13,162 90% 7,334 91%

Total Reporting Payment Method 14,673 8,033


Documents

The Sixth Annual African Consumer Protection Dialolgue Conference Deon Woods Bell Lilongwe, Malawi 6-8 September 2014