Learn how to find out what scams, identity theft, and other consumer issues look like in your area by exploring FTC data at http://www.ftc.gov/exploredata. In this video, Paul Witt, BCP’s lead data analyst, gives us a quick overview on how to explore FTC data using an online tool called Tableau.
Transcript
Hi, I’m Paul Witt, lead data analyst at the Federal Trade Commission. I’d like to show you how to find out what scams, identity theft, and other consumer issues look like in your area.
At ftc.gov/explore-data, we’ve published information from the Consumer Sentinel Network. You can see there are a bunch of reports you can look at, but let’s check out the state and metro area maps.
You can get to your state or metro area by clicking into these maps. Let’s look at fraud and identity theft combined.
As you can see this is a powerful tool. It’s dynamic, interactive, and updated on a quarterly basis.
From here, you can choose your state to see what kinds of problems people have reported.
Once you click – and we’ll just choose Florida – you can see your state’s top ten reports, the total losses, median losses, and the total number of reports.
You can also change the timeframe. That lets you see how reports changed over time. Or you can look at what’s happened in the whole year – or just part of a year. The data then changes accordingly.
You can get to our other maps through these links, including by metro area. Each map gives you some options up here in the top right corner.
If you click on Federal Trade Commission Profile, here, you’ll find a whole gallery of reports and infographics. You can see all the Sentinel fraud and identity theft statistics, look at what people are saying about Do Not Call, and check out interactive infographics on different age groups and government imposters.
We hope you’ll explore the data, spread the word, and file your own report at ftc.gov/complaint.
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