This Is How Much Money Every Age Group Loses to Scams
Written by
Heather Taylor
Edited by
Chris Cluff
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Americans are losing billions to online scams. In June 2023, online investigation service Social Catfish released its third annual State of Internet Scams 2023. The study provided key findings of the total reported money lost and which generations see the largest percentage of money lost.
You might be surprised to see which generation falls for scams the fastest — and which generation loses the most money to scams and fraudsters. This is how much money every age group loses to scams.
How Much Total Money Is Lost?
Social Catfish cited the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center where $10.3 billion was reported lost by Americans to online scams in 2022. Five years ago, Americans reported $2.7 billion lost to online scams, so the percentage increase is 277%.
How Much Does Every Age Group Lose To Scams?
In 2022, the average loss amount per victim was $12,859. This number is up from $8,142 in 2021. Now that we have an understanding of the average amount victims lose to online scams, let’s see how much money is lost by age group.
Ages 18 to 24
In August 2023, GOBankingRates surveyed 1,141 Americans to learn more about Americans who have lost money to financial scams, fraud and identity theft and how much money they lost. Of those surveyed, 24.66% of Americans between the ages of 18 to 24 reported to have lost up to $1,000.
Key findings from Social Catfish also reveal people ages 20 or younger are quickly falling for online scams. In 2022, young people lost $210 million overall to scams compared to $8.2 million lost by the same age group in 2017. Within the five-year span of 2017 to 2022, the amount lost by those ages 20 or younger grew nearly 2,500%.Â
Ages 25 to 34
According to the GOBankingRates survey, 19% of those between ages 25 to 34 said they have lost between $501 to $1,000 to scams and fraud. Tying at 17.70% are those who have lost anywhere from $251 to $500 and $1,001 to $2,000 to scams.
Ages 35 to 44
Those between the ages of 35 to 44 who have lost money to financial scams and fraud have mostly kept their losses under $500. Of the respondents surveyed by GOBankingRates, 21.85% have lost anywhere between zero to $250 to scams, fraud and identity theft.Â
Ages 45 to 54
For 24% of Americans ages 45 to 54, they have lost between zero to $250 to scams. An additional 22% surveyed by GOBankingRates said they have also lost between $501 to $1,000.
Ages 55 to 64
A key finding from GOBankingRates survey is that 46.94% of Americans ages 55 to 64 have lost between zero to $250 to scams.
Ages 65 and Over
For those ages 65 and over, as surveyed by GOBankingRates, 42% have lost between zero to $250 due to online scams, fraud and identity theft. However, Seniors are the most victimized when it comes to age groups, losing the most money to scams. Seniors lost $3.1 billion in 2022 to online scams, according to Social Catfish.
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