Key Finding
Americans reported losing a record 16 billion dollars to fraud in 2025, according to the Federal Trade Commission, up roughly 25 percent from the year before. The losses were not spread evenly. A handful of scam types did most of the damage, led by investment scams at 7.9 billion dollars and imposter scams at 3.5 billion dollars. This report breaks down where the money went, who got hit hardest, and how ScamVerify™ data on more than 15 million complaints lines up with the national picture.
Where the $16 Billion Went
The FTC's 2025 data shows losses concentrated in a few categories:
| Scam category | Reported losses (2025) | Notable detail |
|---|---|---|
| Investment scams | $7.9 billion | The single largest loss category, often crypto-related |
| Imposter scams | $3.5 billion | The most-reported category, nearly 1 in 3 fraud reports |
| Social media scams | $2.1 billion | Losses up roughly eightfold since 2020 |
| Romance scams | $1.48 billion | Up about 22 percent year over year |
A few patterns are worth pulling out.
Investment scams cause the biggest losses
At 7.9 billion dollars, investment fraud, much of it tied to cryptocurrency and "pig butchering" schemes that blend a fake relationship with a fake trading platform, drained more money than any other category. These scams produce large individual losses because victims are coached to invest more and more before they realize the platform is fake.
Imposter scams are the most common
Imposter scams, where someone pretends to be your bank, a government agency, a company, or even a family member, were the most-reported fraud type, making up nearly one in three reports. The FTC notes that reports of government imposter scams rose about 40 percent, driven in part by the wave of fake "unpaid toll" messages. Reported losses to imposters have grown to roughly three times their 2020 level.
Social media is the launch pad
Nearly 30 percent of people who lost money said the scam started on social media, accounting for 2.1 billion dollars. We cover that shift in detail in our report on social media scams.
Older Adults Bear the Heaviest Losses
The FTC's data shows a stark age gap. People age 50 and older reported 4.3 billion dollars in fraud losses in 2025, compared with 2.3 billion dollars among younger adults. Older victims also tend to lose more per scam, especially to imposter and investment schemes that coach them into withdrawing large sums, including through crypto ATM scams that have surged more than 1,000 percent since 2020.
What Our Own Data Adds
The FTC's dollar figures measure money lost. ScamVerify's database of more than 15 million FTC complaint records measures something complementary: how the scams reach people. Three signals from our data explain the rising losses:
- Automation is winning. Roughly 7 in 10 complaints are now robocalls, up from about half in early 2024, letting operations reach far more people at near-zero cost.
- Debt relief leads by volume. It is the most-complained phone scam in our data, and it grew 79 percent year over year.
- Scams are multi-channel. The same operations work phone, text, email, and social media at once, which is why total losses keep climbing across categories.
In short, the FTC's record loss total and our complaint data tell two halves of the same story: more automated, more multi-channel, more money lost.
How to Protect Yourself
The categories change, but the defenses are consistent:
- Never invest based on an online tip. No legitimate investment guarantees returns, and "pig butchering" schemes are built to look exactly like a real opportunity and a real relationship.
- Verify any "urgent" contact independently. Banks, agencies, and companies do not demand immediate payment or codes. Hang up and reach them through an official number or site.
- Treat any request for gift cards, wire, or crypto as a scam. These are the payment methods fraud relies on because they are hard to reverse.
- Check before you trust. Run an unknown number through the ScamVerify phone lookup, or a suspicious link or store through the website checker, before you act.
- Talk to the older adults in your life, who lose the most, about imposter and investment scams before they are targeted.
The Bottom Line
A record 16 billion dollars lost in 2025 is a 25 percent jump in a single year, and the money is concentrated in investment, imposter, social media, and romance scams. Older adults are hit hardest. The throughline, confirmed by both the FTC's loss data and ScamVerify's 15 million complaint records, is that fraud is getting more automated and more multi-channel. The protection is old-fashioned: verify independently, never pay in untraceable methods, and check before you trust.
FAQ
How much did Americans lose to fraud in 2025?
According to the FTC, people reported losing a record 16 billion dollars to fraud in 2025, up roughly 25 percent from 2024. Investment scams caused the most losses at 7.9 billion dollars, followed by imposter scams at 3.5 billion. Reported losses reflect only fraud that people reported, so the true total is almost certainly higher.
What was the most common scam in 2025?
Imposter scams were the most-reported fraud type, making up nearly one in three reports to the FTC. These involve someone pretending to be your bank, a government agency, a business, or a family member. Reports of government imposter scams rose about 40 percent, driven partly by fake "unpaid toll" text messages.
Which scams caused the biggest financial losses?
Investment scams led by a wide margin at 7.9 billion dollars, much of it tied to cryptocurrency and "pig butchering" schemes that combine a fake relationship with a fake trading platform. Imposter scams were next at 3.5 billion, followed by social-media-based scams at 2.1 billion and romance scams at about 1.48 billion.
Why do older adults lose more to fraud?
FTC data shows people 50 and older reported 4.3 billion dollars in losses in 2025, nearly double the 2.3 billion reported by younger adults, and they tend to lose more per scam. Imposter and investment scams often coach older victims into withdrawing large sums, sometimes through crypto ATMs. Talking through these scams in advance is one of the most effective protections.
