Identity theft and collections ranked first and second on the Federal Trade Commission's list of top complaints consumers filed with the agency in 2009.
Overall, of the 1.3 million complaints the FTC received last year, 21% - more than 278,000 - were for identity theft issues. Collection agencies totaled 9% of complaints, nearly 120,000, according to the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book released Wednesday.
Credit card fraud was the top complaint when it comes to identity theft, followed by fraud related to government benefits, utilities, phones and loans.
Other categories in the top 10 that were related to accounts receivable management include: credit cards, with 45,203 complaints; advance-fee loans and credit protection/repair, with 41,448 complaints; banks and lenders, with 32,443 complaints; and credit bureaus/information furnishers/report users, with 31,629 complaints.
A complete list of complaints can be found at: http://www.ftc.gov/sentinel/reports/sentinel-annual-reports/sentinel-cy2009.pdf.