The internet has provided a lot of good for humanity, but it has also resulted in scams becoming considerably more commonplace than might have been the case otherwise. It turns out that the amount of money that Americans are losing to scammers is going up each and every year, which indicates that this is a serious problem that does not seem like it is anywhere close to being solved.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the Federal Trade Commission of the US recently put out some statistics that reveal the extent of the problem. According to the data, Americans lost around $8.8 billion to scammers in 2022 alone. By comparison, they lost $3.4 billion to scammers back in 2020. In the following year of 2021, a massive 70% increase in scams was noted which brought the total financial losses to around $5.8 billion with all things having been considered and taken into account. The increase for 2022 was lower at around 30%, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it still suggests that scammers are seeing more success than ever before.
Around $3.8 billion of these financial losses went towards investment scams that often promise enormous returns for little to no advertised risk. The losses from these scams have doubled in the span of just a single year. Romance scams were another major issue, with around $1.3 billion getting stolen due to their prevalence.
Imposter scams are also quite commonplace, with Americans getting swindled out of $2.6 billion due to them in 2022. However, this type of scam has not seen much growth, since the losses from it in 2021 came up to around $2.4 billion.
Businesses are also suffering greatly due to these scams. Losses incurred by businesses from scams have more than tripled in the past two years. They totalled at around $196 million in 2020 before increasing to $453 million in 2021. These losses have now exceeded the half billion dollar mark, reaching a sum total of $660 million in 2022.
Read next: New Survey Shows the Challenges Businesses Face When Confronting Political Polarization
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the Federal Trade Commission of the US recently put out some statistics that reveal the extent of the problem. According to the data, Americans lost around $8.8 billion to scammers in 2022 alone. By comparison, they lost $3.4 billion to scammers back in 2020. In the following year of 2021, a massive 70% increase in scams was noted which brought the total financial losses to around $5.8 billion with all things having been considered and taken into account. The increase for 2022 was lower at around 30%, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it still suggests that scammers are seeing more success than ever before.
Around $3.8 billion of these financial losses went towards investment scams that often promise enormous returns for little to no advertised risk. The losses from these scams have doubled in the span of just a single year. Romance scams were another major issue, with around $1.3 billion getting stolen due to their prevalence.
Imposter scams are also quite commonplace, with Americans getting swindled out of $2.6 billion due to them in 2022. However, this type of scam has not seen much growth, since the losses from it in 2021 came up to around $2.4 billion.
Businesses are also suffering greatly due to these scams. Losses incurred by businesses from scams have more than tripled in the past two years. They totalled at around $196 million in 2020 before increasing to $453 million in 2021. These losses have now exceeded the half billion dollar mark, reaching a sum total of $660 million in 2022.
Read next: New Survey Shows the Challenges Businesses Face When Confronting Political Polarization
