Consumers filed 2.6 million fraud reports in 2024, claiming total losses of over $12.5 billion, an increase of over $2 billion compared to the previous year, the Federal Trade Commission says.
Data collected from the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network shows that more than 6.47 million consumer reports were filed last year, the majority of which were in the fraud (2.6 million) and identity theft (1.1 million) categories.
While the number of received fraud reports did not increase compared to 2023, more people reported losing money to fraud last year, when 38% of individuals reporting fraud said they lost money, reads the FTC’s report (PDF).
Consumers reported total losses of $5.7 billion to investment scams in 2024, while losses from imposter scams, such as romance scams, government imposter scams, and technical support scams, were of $2.95 billion.
In the fraud category, online shopping represented the second most reported type of issue, with losses totaling $432 million, followed by business and job opportunities, in which reported losses totaled $750.6 million.
Bank transfers and payments ($2.09 billion) and cryptocurrency ($1.42 billion) were the most used payment methods mentioned in fraud reports resulting in losses.
Last year, the FTC received 449,032 reports of identity theft, in which people said their information was misused with an existing credit card.
The FTC also notes that most consumers reported being contacted by scammers via email, with phone calls being the second most reported contact method, followed by text messages.
The commission encourages consumers to report scams and fraud via its dedicated website, saying this helps it warn others about fraud trends, and achieve its law enforcement mission.
As part of this mission, this week the FTC is refunding consumers who were scammed by Cyprus-based Restoro Cyprus Limited and Reimage Cyprus Limited into signing up for computer repair services.
A year ago, the FTC announced a $26 million settlement with the two firms, and on March 13 and March 14, 2025, the commission will send 736,375 PayPal payments to the affected consumers who are eligible to receive a payment.
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