[REVISION HISTORY]

US consumer fraud and scam trends

Updated 1 time since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-08-18 00:45 UTC → 2026-08-18 20:03 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Consumer fraud in the United States has reached significant levels, with reports highlighting both specific tactics and broad statistical trends. Initial reports from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) indicated that text message scams alone resulted in losses exceeding $470 million, often involving impersonation tactics such as fraudulent recruitment messages from companies like Amazon. Broader analysis of the Consumer Sentinel Network reveals that Americans reported total losses exceeding $15.9 billion due to fraud in a single year. Data shows that while younger adults report being victims more frequently, older adults tend to lose larger sums per instance, particularly when scammers target retirement savings. Furthermore, scam reporting rates vary significantly by state, with some regions experiencing rates nearly triple those of others. Recent data indicates that impersonator scams specifically accounted for $3.5 billion in losses over the last year. Within this category, business impersonation alone represented nearly $1 billion. These fraudulent activities are increasingly conducted via phone calls, social media, and mobile messaging platforms like SMS and WhatsApp. The emergence of artificial intelligence has made these scams harder to detect, as fraudulent messages can now appear “identical to legitimate business communications.” The scale of mobile-based fraud is growing, with WhatsApp reporting the shutdown of more than 6.8 million accounts linked to criminal scam centers during the first half of 2025.

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