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The FTC took in 3.1 million reports from consumers, including Fraud 1.5 million and Identity theft 444,383, totaling $1.6 billion lost to fraud. The FTC report below is focused on the largest segment of victims of fraud, those 60 years and older, though it should be noted that the frauds reported by those 20 to 59 years old indicated more losses. Older adults are more likely than younger consumers to report losing money to tech support, prize, sweepstakes and lottery, and family and friend impersonation scams (see p 5 of report). Phone scams continue to be a tremendous problem for consumers of all ages (see p 6 of report). Older adults most often reported paying fraudsters with a credit card, gift or reload card, or wire transfer (see p 7 of report). The front line businesses (banks and retail stores) can make a substantial difference in helping consumers to avoid losing money. Over 50% of consumers who reported an intervention by a third party during a scam in progress avoided a loss. Imposter scams were the top type of scam reported to the FTC, in particular, IRS and Social Security Administration. This report further elaborates on each of the most popular scams, its enforcement actions, community outreach and then lists court cases at the end.
