Most Common Ways People Are Being Scammed Out of Money in 2023

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More and more Americans are finding themselves victims of financial scams. According to data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 2.4 million consumers filed fraud reports in 2022. 

Which types of cons do people experience most often when it comes to their money? Here are the most common ways people are being financially scammed in 2023.

Top Financial Scams of 2023

In August 2023, GOBankingRates surveyed 1,141 Americans to learn whether they had ever experienced scams, fraud or identity theft. 

Six financial scams ranked as the most commonly experienced among overall respondents who identified as victims. 

• Phone scams, like robocalls and texts: 43%
• Money transfer or mobile payment services: 30%
• Online shopping: 23%
• Phishing: 18%
• Imposter scam: 17%
• Social Security scam: 16%

Do any of these scams share similarities with the FTC’s top frauds of 2022? Two categories, imposters and online shopping, overlap between the FTC’s top five 2022 frauds and GOBankingRates rankings. In 2022, the FTC cited imposter scams as the most commonly reported fraud from consumers with online shopping taking a close second place spot.

Which Age Groups Experience These Scams the Most?

Let’s look at the breakdown of the age groups that have been victims of these top six scams:

Phone Scams

Nearly 60% of overall respondents between ages 18 to 24 and 50% of those ages 25 to 34 surveyed by GOBankingRates have been victims of phone scams. Phone scams also impact older generations negatively too. Thirty-eight percent of those ages 35 to 44 and those ages 55 to 64 have experienced the same scams.

Money Transfer or Mobile Payment Services

At 43%, those between the ages of 18 to 24 have been hardest hit by money transfer or mobile payment services scams. On the heels of this percentage include 35% of respondents between the ages of 45 to 54.

Online Shopping

Respondents who identified as boomers and Gen Z have had significant exposure to online shopping scams. The highest percentage belongs to those ages 65 and over at 34% and respondents between ages 18 to 24 at 30%.

Phishing

According to GOBankingRates, 24% of respondents between the ages of 45 and 54 have been victims of phishing.

Imposter Scam

Twenty-five percent of respondents surveyed between ages 35 and 44 said they had been victims of an imposter scam. 

Social Security Scam

In a surprising turn of events, 21% of respondents between ages 25 to 34 told GOBankingRates they have been victims of a Social Security scam.

Which Scam Hits Men and Women Hardest?

Of the six financial scams highlighted by GOBankingRates as the top scams of 2023, nearly half of all men and women have been victims of phone scams. This percentage breaks down to 44% of men and 42% of women.

Other Common Financial Scams

Unfortunately, consumers have experienced even more cons besides the six mentioned above. Overall respondents surveyed by GOBankingRates said they had been victims of the following financial scams.

• Debt collection scam: 13%
• Romance scam: 10%
• Tax scam: 9%
• Debt relief scam: 7%
• Lottery or sweepstakes: 7%
• Student loan forgiveness: 6%
• Cryptocurrency: 6%
• Employment scam: 5%

Methodology: GOBankingRates surveyed 1,141 Americans aged 18 and older from across the country between August 2 and August 6, 2023, asking twenty different questions: (1) Have you ever been the victim of identity theft, a financial scam or financial fraud?; (2) If you have been a victim of identity theft, which type of theft did you experience?; (3) If you have been a victim of a financial scam, which type of scam did you experience? (select all that apply); (4) If you have been a victim of financial fraud, what type of fraud did you experience? (select all that apply); (5) Have you ever been scammed making any of the following purchases?; (6) All together, how much money have you lost due to identity theft, financial scams and/or financial fraud?; (7) If you lost money due to identity theft, a financial scam or financial fraud, were you reimbursed for it?; (8) What is the most common way you are contacted by scammers?; (9) How often do you change your bank account passwords?; (10) How do you keep your money safe while traveling? (select all that apply); (11) Where do you think is the safest place to keep your money?; (12) How much physical cash do you keep at home?; (13) If you have been scammed out of money when shopping online, how much did you lose?; (14) If you are retired, have you ever experienced these common retirement scams? (select all that apply); (15) Have you, or any of your family members, experienced a Social Security scam?; (16) If you have lost money from a tax scam, how much did you lose?; (17) Have you ever experienced a student loan forgiveness scam?; (18) What type of impact do you think identity theft has on its victims?; (19) What are some ways you protect yourself from identity theft today? (select all that apply); and (20) Do you have antivirus software installed on your computer?. GOBankingRates used PureSpectrum’s survey platform to conduct the poll.

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