Consumers Lost Nearly $8.8 Billion to Scams in 2022: FTC

Federal Trade Commission seal is seen at a news conference at FTC headquarters in Washington, on July 24, 2019. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released data on Feb. 23 that shows consumers reported losing nearly $8.8 billion nationally to fraud in 2022, a surge of more than 30 percent compared to previous year.

According to the FTC’s data, consumers lost the most money to investment scams, at more than $3.8 billion, accounting for more than 40 percent of losses last year. That amount more than doubles the amount reported lost in 2021, when fraudsters claimed more than $1.8 billion from investors.

The second-highest reported loss amount came from imposter scams, with losses of $2.6 billion reported, up from $2.4 billion in 2021. These scams include romance scams, people falsely claiming to be the government, a relative in distress, a well-known business, or a technical support expert, the agency said.

The FTC received fraud reports from 2.4 million consumers in 2022, the agency said. Most of the consumers fell victim to imposter scams, followed by online shopping scams throughout last year. Other widely reported scams include prizes, sweepstakes, and lotteries; investment-related reports; and business and job opportunities.

More than $1.2 billion was lost to social media scams. However, phone scams had the highest per-person loss at a median of $1,400.

While U.S. consumers reported greater losses to scams last year, the number of fraud reports actually declined in 2022. Based on the FTC data, there were 2.8 million fraud reports amounting to $5.8 billion in losses in 2021, compared to 2.4 million fraud reports and $8.8 billion in losses in 2022.

Consumer Sentinel Network

The FTC’s data comes from its Consumer Sentinel Network, a database that collects reports directly from consumers, law enforcement agencies at all levels of government, the Better Business Bureau, industry members, and nonprofit organizations. Twenty-three states currently participate in the Sentinel Network.

Sentinel added 5.1 million reports in 2022, including fraud reports, identity theft reports, plus issues with credit bureaus, banks and lenders.

Over 1.1 million reports of identity theft filed through the FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov website.

The consumer protection agency also revealed last month that nearly 70,000 people had reported record losses of $1.3 billion to romance scams in 2022. The report showed that romance scammers often use dating apps to target people looking for love.

These figures reflect consumers’ reported losses and the actual total amount of losses is likely higher, given that some consumers opt not to report their losses.

While the FTC can’t resolve individual cases, the agency uses reports to investigate and bring cases against fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Reports are shared with law enforcement agencies that investigate further.

You can report fraud attempts at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and file an identity theft report at IdentityTheft.gov.