Scammers stole record-breaking $12.5B from Americans in 2024, FTC says

• The FTC released some startling new numbers for dollars lost to scams in 2024.
• Consumers are warned once again to watch out for those impersonating the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the FBI and others.

Well-versed online crooks, con artists and fraudsters snagged $12.5 billion from unwitting consumers in 2024, setting yet another record, according to the latest data released Monday by the Federal Trade Commission.

The total dollars lost was 25% higher than reported losses in 2023 when the old record was set at more than $10 billion lost to scammers.

It's not that consumers are reporting more scams, according to the FTC. Fraud reports remained stable. Instead, consumers are reporting losing more money.

In 2024, some 38% of consumers reported losing money to fraud and scams. That's up from 27% in 2023, according to the latest Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book.

Huge dollars lost in 2024 to investment scams

Nearly half of the dollars lost — some $5.7 billion — involved money that consumers lost to investment scams, the single largest scam last year. That is a 24% jump from 2023.

The median loss involving investment scams was more than $9,000.

Consumers reported losing more money to scams where they paid with bank transfers or cryptocurrency than all other payment methods combined. People reported losing $2 billion via bank transfer or payment and $1.4 billion was lost via cryptocurrency.

Consumers made 2.6 million fraud reports nationwide in 2024 to various agencies, roughly the same number as 2023, according to the latest Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book.

The Consumer Sentinel Network is managed by the FTC but compiles consumer complaints from a variety of sources, including the AARP Fraud Watch Network, United Parcel Service, the Better Business Bureau, the Michigan Attorney General and other AGs across the country, Publishers Clearing House, the Microsoft Corp. Cyber Crime Center, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. More than 20 states contribute data to Sentinel.

Unfortunately, consumers are being hit at every turn by one scam or another. Scammers reach out through emails, phone calls and texts.

Michigan consumers of all ages lose money to scams

Michigan consumers reported losses totaling $204 million to all types of fraud in 2024. That's up from $151.7 million in 2023. The median loss was $305 in 2024.

Younger consumers are kidding themselves if they think that only seniors lose money to these outlandish schemes.

While seniors tend to lose the most money, younger consumers are falling victim to scams, too.

The FTC's data book this year included a new dashboard showing more detail on fraud reports received for each state broken down by age. Not every report received by consumer watchdogs includes an age for the person filing the report but many reports disclose that information.

The $204 million overall figure for Michigan's reported fraud includes money lost by many consumers who did not report their age.

Looking closely at the information by age category for Michigan, though, we can see that nearly $45.9 million was reported lost to scams and fraud by Michigan consumers ages 60 and older.

Nearly $40.7 million was reported lost to scams and fraud by Michigan consumers ages 59 and younger.

In Michigan, for example, the data indicated that 4,339 reports about fraud and scams were made last year by consumers in the 30- to 39-year-old age bracket. Total losses reported by that group of Michigan consumers was about $8.6 million. The median loss was $309.

Among Michigan consumers ages 80 and older nearly $6.1 million was reported lost to scams. But the median loss was the highest of any age group at $2,228 for those 80 and older. Consumer watchdogs received 1,310 reports about scams from Michigan consumers ages 80 and older.

The biggest total dollars lost and the most reports of fraud — 5,510 — involved Michigan consumers in the 60- to 69-year-old age group. The total reported losses in that age group was a bit more than $24 million. The median loss was $498 in 2024.

The top five scams reported by Michigan consumers involved situations where crooks impersonated a well-known business; offered bogus deals to online shoppers; pretended to be someone from an official government agency; made phony promises involving fake sweepstakes, prizes and lotteries, and pitched scams involving fake jobs and employment agencies.

Watch out for crooks who pretend to be someone else

"Scammers’ tactics are constantly evolving,” warned Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement.

Regularly, we're being warned to think twice before trusting the person who reached out to us.

Nationwide, the second highest reported dollar losses involved some type of imposter scam, with $2.95 billion reported lost across the country.

Scammers are impersonating local law enforcement by calling or emailing consumers about jury duty. They're demanding that consumers pay up because the consumer somehow missed showing up for jury duty.

The crooks are either out to get your money on a gift card or via cryptocurrency. Or they want to get your Social Security number or other personal information.

No government agency is going to call you out of the blue and demand you pay any fine. And they're not asking that you send crypto or buy gift cards.

When it comes to government imposter scams, according to the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network, crooks are most likely to ask you to pay money by putting cash on a gift card and reading back numbers to them.

Be careful when you pick up the phone. People lost more money per person — a median loss of $1,500 — when they interacted with scammers on the phone, according to the FTC.

You're most likely to be contacted by phone when crooks impersonate federal, state and local government agencies. Crooks frequently impersonate the Social Security Administration, Medicare, the US Postal Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Trade Commission and the Internal Revenue Service.

The median reported loss to an IRS impersonation scam was $319, according to FTC data. Some $9.14 million was lost to IRS impersonation scams in 2024.

The median loss to a Social Security impersonation scam was $1,200 last year. Some $130.76 million was lost to scammers impersonating Social Security employees in 2024, according to the latest FTC data.

The median loss was $3,040 to impersonation scams when crooks pretended to be from a local police department, sheriff's office or the FBI. Some $18.8 million was lost to those scams.

Scammers know that people who are searching for work can be tricked into responding to a text about a promising paycheck.

The latest data showed that consumers nationwide made 104,926 reports in 2024 involving a subcategory called "job scams and employment agencies." In all, $501 million was reported lost to job-related scams. The median amount lost by consumers was $2,400 in 2024 to such scams.

That's up substantially from the previous year when 68,469 total reports were made by consumers about job scams and employment agencies. In 2023, consumers reported losing $238 million to such scams, with the median loss hitting $2,004 for individuals.

How to report fraud

Consumers can report scams to the Michigan Attorney General’s consumer protection division. The address to mail a complaint is: Consumer Protection Team; P.O. Box 30213; Lansing, MI 48909. The toll free number is 877-765-8388. New consumer complaints can also be made online. See Michigan.gov/ag for information.

Consumers can make complaints at ReportFraud.ftc.gov where they also will receive information about some steps on how to possibly try to recover their money. These reports are a vital part of the agency’s law enforcement mission and also help the FTC to warn consumers about fraud trends in the data.

The FTC uses the reports it receives through the Sentinel network as the starting point for many law enforcement investigations. Reports are shared with federal, state and local law enforcement.

Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on X @tompor.