Newest FTC Data Reveals Americans Lost Billions to Fraud in 2024 — Here Were the Most Expensive Scams
Written by
Nicholas Morine
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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Scams and fraud impact millions of people every year, and falling for a scam can mean losing thousands of dollars.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that in 2024, 2.6 million U.S. consumers reported a whopping $12.5 billion as lost to fraud — a figure 25% higher than in 2023.
To protect yourself, it helps to know how to spot a scam.
Investment and Imposter Scams Top the Charts
Data from the FTC indicated that the two most damaging types of fraud last year came in the form of investment and imposter scams.
Investment Scams
Investment scams outpaced any other category of fraud targeting U.S. consumers in 2024, with reports of $5.7 billion in losses — an uptick of 24% in total value lost from 2023.
These sorts of scams typically see fraudsters enticing victims to invest money into fraudulent assets, and when the transfer is complete, the cash disappears — along with the criminal who defrauded the victim.
Imposter Scams
Imposter scams, on the other hand, accounted for $2.95 billion in losses coming from American checkbooks.
These scams involve a fraudster pretending to be someone trustworthy or an authority figure, like a representative of a bank or government. They use this feigned authority and the urgency of dire consequences to convince victims to give them personal information, like a Social Security Number, or send them money.
How Scams Are Changing
One striking fact: Last year, consumers reported losing more money to scams wherein they paid off the fraudsters with bank transfers or cryptocurrency than all other payment methods combined.
And a second: While the FTC took in fraud reports from 2.6 million consumers in 2024 — and that number nearly matches the figure from 2023 — the total sum of money lost was much larger.
Further, growth in particular subsets of scams was in evidence.
- Government imposter scams, a scenario in which a fraudster pretends to be a government official seeking monetary restitution or payment of some sort, saw consumer losses total $789 million, or about $171 million higher than in 2023.
- Business and job opportunity fraud, where hopefuls might pay false recruiters or hiring agencies for a way into their desired careers, accounted for $750.6 million in losses — up $250 million from 2023’s figure.
Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said, “Scammers’ tactics are constantly evolving. … The FTC is monitoring those trends closely and working hard to protect the American people from fraud.”
Government Imposter Scams Continue Apace in 2025
The pace of these reports does not appear to be slowing, either. A separate FTC data sheet indicated that for 2025, year-to-date, 75,458 reports of government imposter scams have been recorded. The scammers represent themselves as collecting tolls or representing the Social Security Administration, Medicare or even the FTC themselves.
Most payments this year have been made by gift card — never a valid payment method for government-owed debt — and most scammers called their victims via phone.
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