Consumer Sentinel Network

Consumer Sentinel Network is a law-enforcement-only database operated by the FTC that aggregates fraud and identity theft reports from consumers, regulatory agencies, non-profit organisations, and industry partners. It includes reports from the BBB, state attorneys general, USPS inspectors, the FBI IC3, and partner agencies in Canada and Australia, among others. As of recent years, the network contains tens of millions of reports.

Law enforcement agencies with authorised access can query Sentinel to identify fraud campaigns affecting many victims, locate related reports across jurisdictions, and build prosecution cases. The FTC's annual Consumer Sentinel Data Book, published publicly, summarises the anonymised aggregate data — reporting total losses, the most common fraud types, payment methods used, and victim demographics.

For consumers, the practical implication is that every fraud report filed with the FTC contributes to a system used by thousands of law enforcement agencies. Even if no individual investigation results from a single report, the aggregate data drives enforcement priorities. Reporting to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov is therefore a meaningful act beyond simply creating a paper trail.