The FTC received nearly 2.6 million fraud reports from consumers in 2024, similar to the number in 2023. Imposter scams were the most commonly reported category, with government imposter scams seeing a significant increase in losses, rising $171 million to $789 million in 2024. Online shopping issues were the second most reported fraud category, followed by business and job opportunities, which saw reported losses increase by nearly $250 million to $750.6 million. Within this category, job and employment agency scams showed substantial growth, with reports tripling and losses jumping from $90 million to $501 million between 2020 and 2024. For the second consecutive year, email was the most common method scammers used to contact consumers, followed by phone calls and text messages. The FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network, a database that receives reports from consumers and various law enforcement agencies, received 6.5 million reports in 2024, including fraud reports, identity theft reports, and other consumer complaints. The FTC uses these reports to initiate law enforcement investigations and shares them with law enforcement professionals nationwide. Consumers who report losing money to scams on ReportFraud.ftc.gov receive guidance on potential next steps to recover their losses. A detailed breakdown of the 2024 reports is available on the FTC’s data analysis site at ftc.gov/exploredata, including data by state, metropolitan area, and various subcategories of fraud reports. New this year is a data dashboard providing more detailed information on fraud reports by state, broken down by age.
