Cheating scams led to fraud reports to the FTC in 2025, a loss of $3.5 billion.

For the fifth year in a row, impostor scams ranked as the most reported form of fraud in 2025, according to the latest data from the Federal Trade Commission.

While 80% of the nearly 1 million who filed a scam report did not lose money, another 20% lost a total of $3.5 billion, FTC data shows.

“There are consumers who are losing very high dollars,” said Patty Hsue, chief of staff in the FTC’s Division of Marketing Practices.

“A moderate loss [of $700] It’s on the low side but there’s a very small number of buyers who are losing six figures or more,” said Hsue.

Total fraud losses reported to the FTC in 2025 reached nearly $15.9 billion — the highest on record and an increase of about 27% from $12.5 billion in 2024. As of 2020, reported losses have increased nearly 430%, according to the FTC.

The trend is largely driven by a sharp increase in the number of consumers who claim to have been defrauded of at least $100,000, which occurs most often among victims age 60 or older, according to the FTC.

Scams involving losses of $100,000 or more in that age group accounted for $1.6 billion, or 68%, of their total of $2.4 billion in reported losses in 2024, according to the FTC’s 2025 annual report to Congress, released in December.

“While we get tons and tons of fraud reports from people of all ages … older adults are more likely to report financial losses than older adults,” Hsue said.

In general, men and women are victimized equally by fraudsters, said Amy Nofziger, executive director of victim support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network, a free resource for consumers to learn about scams and report them.

However, “most of the time we hear more about women because there are more opportunities for them to report their abuse,” he said.

Additionally, in many cases, a female family member is the person who reports the fraud on behalf of the male, Nofziger said.

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence may make it harder to spot scams.

“We used to look for spelling mistakes or bad grammar,” Nofziger said. “Now, that’s out the window. With the tools available to hackers, they can make any text or email sound 100% legitimate.

In the fraud category of fraudsters, business actors will escape from $ 1 billion in 2025, with the largest reported losses caused by criminals pretending to work for the bank, according to the FTC. Another 920 million came from government supporters. Those numbers increase from $866 million and $789 million, respectively, by 2024.

“We’ve seen a change in the way scammers operate these days,” said Hsue. “It’s actually becoming more complicated than ever.”

One of the new scams for fraudsters is a combination of brands, Hsue said.

“It starts as business fraud, usually something that says ‘your account has been compromised,'” Hsue said, explaining that it could look like a text, email or phone call from your bank. Amazon or another known product.

When the victim answers, the criminal says they are referring the person to a government agency such as the FTC or FBI. “The fake government agent is telling you that you need to remove your money to protect your account,” Hsue said.

“The real danger with this … is that consumers think they’re moving their money to protect it,” he said.

Because the victim thinks they’re protecting their entire account, “they’re really moving all their money. You’re talking about bank accounts, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s,” Hsue said.

The majority of people – 62% – say they have experienced financial fraud in the last three years or know someone, according to a new report by the CFP Board of Standards, which sets and emphasizes the standards of certified financial planners.

There are common red flags among scams, Nofziger said. “Most scams have the same DNA,” he said. “They came out in a hurry.”

In addition, if the victim is asked to lie or keep the situation secret, that should be a reason to pause. “There is no reasonable opportunity that will ask you to lie or keep it a secret,” Nofziger said.

Scammers also try to make victims react emotionally. “They’ll either scare you or cheer you up … ‘This is the FBI and you’re going to be in trouble if you don’t pay me,’ or ‘Sweet baby, I’ve got $1 million for you so I’m sending you prepaid gift cards to win your prize.’

“The biggest red flag is that they’re asking you to send money or your personal information,” Nofziger said.

And be aware that “caller IDs and emails and all those forms of communication can confuse where they’re coming from, so you can’t always trust that it’s a business you’re talking to,” Hsue said. Instead of responding to communications, reach out independently, he said.

If you see that you have been abused, it is important to report it immediately, Hsue said.

In some cases, the company or law enforcement can try to get your money back,” she said. In some cases, it can be difficult to get the money back after 24 or 48 hours, she said.

If you come across a scam — or any type of financial fraud — you can report it to the FTC through its website.

“Know that scams target all of us,” Nofziger said. “It has nothing to do with your education or level of intelligence. It really has to do with your emotions when the scammer targets you.”