New data from the US Federal Trade Commission (opens in a new tab) The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has revealed the staggering scale of scams across the United States that cost billions of dollars last year.
In 2022, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission reports losses due to fraud of $8.8 billion, an increase of more than 30% over the previous year.
The report shares insights into the most common types of fraud to help protect consumers. While there were fewer reports of fraudulent activity last year compared to 2021, financial losses increased significantly.
More and more scams
The most prevalent type of fraud reported last year was imposter fraud, in which malicious people pretend to be someone they wouldn’t defraud unsuspecting vulnerable consumers of their money.
Based on 2.4 million reported instances, other popular scams include online shopping; prizes, sweepstakes, and lotteries; investments; and business and job opportunities.
The hardest-hit type, based on economic losses, is investment scams, whose success may be partly due to tough economic conditions that have many people trying to make more money. Losses increased from less than half of that ($1.8 billion) in 2021 to $3.8 billion, implying that a growing number of fraud types accounted for more than 43% of last year’s losses.
In addition to scams, the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network received more than 5.1 million reports last year of fraud, identity theft Reports and Other Consumer Issues.
Consumers entered data into Sentinel; federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies; the Better Business Bureau; industry members; and nonprofits from 23 U.S. states, suggesting that U.S.-wide numbers could double again.
The FTC advises consumers to remain vigilant and increase protections as necessary.It also urges victims to www.reportfraud.ftc.gov (opens in a new tab)which can help the committee understand future trends so that it can adjust accordingly.
