Losses from fraud, such as imposter scams and identity theft, reached record amounts last year.
Consumers reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, a 25% increase from more than $10 billion in 2023, according to a yearly report by the Federal Trade Commission.
Victims filed the reports to the FTC, other government agencies and organizations such as the Better Business Bureau, but the reports don't capture all fraud in the U.S.
If you're a victim of fraud or identity theft, you can report it via the website ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
The FTC said the higher losses are because more people said they lost money since reports on fraud and identity theft have stayed stable at around 3.7 million over the last three years.
In 2024, around 38% of the reports involved a loss, up from 27% in 2023 and the highest share on record.
Median losses have also trended higher, reaching $497 in 2024 versus $311 in 2020.
What are the most common types of fraud?
Imposter scams, when fraudsters pretend to be businesses, governments or other organizations, was the most common scam.
The FTC said losses from government imposter scams in particular rose by $171 million in 2024 from 2023.
Imposter scams were followed by online shopping scams and business and job scams.
Employment-agency scams saw major growth, with reports tripling between 2024 and 2024 and losses jumping to $501 million from $90 million.
For the second year in a row, email was the most common way scammers reached people, accounting for a quarter of the fraud reports and $502 million in losses.
It was followed by phone calls, accounting for 19% of the reports, and text messages, accounting for 16%.
Younger people were more likely to lose money than older people: 44% of people aged 20 to 29 reported losing money, versus 24% among people aged 70 to 79.
Still, losses for older people was higher: People aged 70 to 79 reported a median loss of $1,000, compared with $417 for people aged 20 to 29.
Where is fraud happening more in the U.S.?
Fraud is more rampant in scattered parts of the U.S.
Florida had the highest rate of fraud with a rate of 2,163 reports per 100,000 peoople in 2024, followed by Georgia (2,108), Delaware (1,876), Nevada (1,867) and Maryland (1,799).
South Dakota had the lowest rate of fraud reports with 676 reports per 100,000 people, followed by North Dakota (696), Iowa (715), West Virginia (836) and Kansas (848).
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