The headline is this: even though the number of fraud reports is roughly the same as last year, more people lost a lot more money to fraud.
One in three people who reported fraud said they lost money (up from one in four last year), adding up to $12.5 billion (up $2.5 billion from 2023). People lost over $3 billion to scams that started online, compared to approximately $1.9 billion lost to more “traditional” contact methods like calls, texts, or emails. However, people lost more money per person (a median of $1,500) when they interacted with scammers on the phone. And, once again, imposter scams topped the list of scams reported.
Here are some other things to know:
- The biggest scam losses happened by bank transfer or payment. Among all payment methods, people reported losing more money through a bank transfer or payment ($2 billion), followed by cryptocurrency at $1.4 billion.
- Investment scams led to big losses. A majority (79%) of people who reported an investment-related scam lost money, with a median loss of over $9,000. The $5.7 billion losses in this category are up about $1 billion from last year.
- People reported losing money more often when contacted through social media. Most people (70%) reported a loss when contacted on a social media platform — and lost more money overall ($1.9 billion).
- Job scams and fake employment agency losses jumped — a lot. Between 2020-2024, reports nearly tripled and losses grew from $90 million to $501 million.
- Younger people lost money more often. People aged 20-29 reported losing money more often than people 70+. But when older adults lost money, they lost far more than any other age group.
The biggest takeaway? Your reports make a difference. If you see a fraud or scam, the FTC wants to hear about it: go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Read the 2024 Data Book for more details and to learn what happened in Texas.
By BCP Staff
March 10, 2025
Original article located:
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/03/top-scams-2024
