The Top Scams That Steal Your Money

Consumers reported losing $12.5 billion to fraud and scams in 2024, according to a new report from the Federal Trade Commission. That represents a 25 percent increase over the $10 billion consumers reporting losing in 2023.‍

Although the number of fraud reports remained the same, the percentage of people who lost money surged to 38 percent in 2024 from 27 percent in 2023—suggesting that bad actors have gotten better at convincing people to hand over their money. Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a press release that the data show that “scammers’ tactics are constantly evolving.”

A few tactics, in particular, stand out. The most commonly reported fraud categories were imposter scams, online shopping scams, job and business opportunity scams, and investment scams—accounting for nearly $10 billion in reported losses. Here’s what to know about these top scams that consumers lost money to in 2024.

Imposter scams

Imposter scams were the most commonly reported scam in 2024, with 845,806 reports and more than $2.9 billion in losses. These scams involve someone claiming to be a trusted person or known organization to get consumers to send money or share sensitive personal information that can be used to steal their identities or access their accounts. Scammers pose as:

• Representatives of government agencies, such as the IRS, FBI, FTC and Social Security Administration
• Businesses such as Amazon, Paypal, Publishers Clearinghouse, delivery services and banks
• Computer technicians offering support
• Romantic interests
• Friends or relatives in need
• Charities

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How to avoid imposter scams: Be aware that government agencies such as the IRS won’t contact you by phone, email or text message and ask for your personal information. Hang up or don’t respond to any unsolicited phone calls, emails or text messages claiming that you need to take immediate action to resolve some sort of problem—even if the person is claiming to be someone you know or trust. Instead, contact the organization or business that supposedly was trying to reach you by looking up its number online or on your account statement if you do business with them. Finally, if someone strikes up a romance online with you, makes excuses not to meet in-person and starts asking for money, it’s a scam.

Online shopping scams

Online shopping scams were the second-most commonly reported fraud in 2024. However, losses in this category—$432 million—were much lower than for the other top scams. Online shopping scams typically result in consumers paying for items and never receiving them or receiving counterfeit goods, damaged goods or different goods from what they ordered. Scammer use a variety of tactics to take advantage of online shoppers:

• Social media ads for deeply discounted goods.
• Fake retail websites that look legitimate or replicas of actual retail sites.
• Scammers posing as buyers and sellers on online marketplaces such as Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. 
• Sponsored links on search engines that appear at the top of search results and lead to fake retail sites.
• Free trial offers that require upfront payments or a credit card number.
• Fake celebrity-endorsed products advertised on social media sites.
• Email or text message offers with coupon codes or offers for deeply discounted items.

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How to avoid online shopping scams: Stick with online retailers you know and trust. Check the web address carefully to make sure you are at the correct site because scammers often create replica sites with slight variations in company names or that end with .shop, .store or .vip instead of .com. Avoid clicking on ads for deals on social media sites. Instead, go to the retailer’s site to see if you can find the deal there. If you’re shopping on an unfamiliar site, search the name of the company along with the word “reviews,” “scam” or “complaint” before making a purchase. Also, keep an eye on your accounts for unusual transactions, which can be a sign that your card information was stolen and is being used fraudulently. Using a financial safety service such as Carefull can make it easy to get 24/7 account, credit and identity monitoring.

[ Read: How to Avoid Online Shopping Scams ]

Job and business opportunity scams

Scammers have increasingly been taking advantage of people looking for employment. From 2020 to 2024, losses to job scams have soared from $90 million to $501 million, according to the FTC. Combined with reports of business opportunity scams, work-from-home scams and multi-level marketing schemes, this category of fraud reports saw a total of $750 million in reported losses in 2024—with a median loss of $2,250 per victim.

Job and business opportunity scams often involve offers that are too good to be true, such as the opportunity to do little work for a high salary. Scammers advertise these offers on job sites, LinkedIn, online ads or newspaper classifieds. Red flags include requests for personal information, such as a Social Security number, during the application process, requests for upfront payments to get a job or to purchase equipment for a home office, and emails from personal accounts rather than company email accounts.

How to avoid job scams: Research companies before applying for jobs by visiting their websites and social media accounts and searching for reviews to see if there are complaints about them. Be wary of job postings with vague descriptions about the position and remote job offers that require any upfront payments. Don’t pay to apply for a job or share your Social Security number, driver’s license number, bank account number or other personal information with a prospective employer before being hired.

[ See: How to Avoid the Latest Job Scams ]

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Investment scams

Although there were fewer reports of investment scams than the other top scams, consumers lost significantly more money to this type of fraud. Total reported losses to investment scams were nearly $5.7 billion, with a median loss of $9,196 per victim. Scammers use a variety of schemes to take advantage of investors:

• Advanced fee fraud that requires an upfront fee to make a deal go through.
• Cryptocurrency schemes that involve offers to invest in fake cryptocurrencies.
• High-yield investment programs that promise high returns from investments with little or no risk. 
• Ponzi schemes that promise to invest your money and generate high returns but don’t actually invest the money.
• Pump and dump schemes that involve promoters who pump up the price of stocks by urging people to buy shares, then promoters sell the shares. 
• Offers on social media to join fake investment groups.

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How to avoid investment scams: Before handing over money, research any investment that is being offered and the person or company that is offering it. Use the SEC’s EDGAR database to get information about the investment being offered. Use the FINRA BrokerCheck to see if the person or company offering you investments is licensed and, if so, whether there are any complaints about that person. Most importantly, talk with someone you trust before making any investment decisions. 

[ See: What Is Investment Fraud and How to Avoid It ]