Scam artists don't stop for holidays

In this season of good will consumers need to be reminded that scam artists don't take a holiday over the holidays. Millions of Americans continue to be the victims of fraud, according to a recently released survey from the Federal Trade Commission. More than one in ten Americans -- 30.2 million people -- were the victim of fraud in 2005, the year the study was conducted. Our nation's never-ending battle to keep off the fat led to more consumers falling victim to fraudulent weight-loss products and programs than any other type of fraud. This category included everything from drugs to supplements, even to earrings that promised to help the wearer lose weight. The FTC estimated 4.8 million US adults bought bogus weight-loss products. Other types of fraud included lottery scams, fraudulent work-at-home programs, credit card insurance and credit repair scams. People in debt trying to find a solution to their financial problems were more likely to fall victim to fraud - especially debt consolidation scams than those who were more liquid. Seniors were the least likely to be victims of fraud -- particularly for weight-loss promotions -- probably because they aren't as concerned about their weight as younger people.