Believe it or not, the United States is dealing with an epidemic of people being swindled out of their money and other assets.
This rarely appears on the news, as many scams happen behind the scenes and when the cameras aren’t rolling. Regardless, the lack of public attention doesn’t make being scammed any less devastating.
Ironically, shining more of a light on scammers, their tactics, and what to look out for may actually protect people going forward.
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shared some pretty shocking information about scams in the United States.
Looking at the numbers
Last year saw a 30% uptick in consumer losses generated by scams, compared to 2021. Further developments from the FTC likewise reveal that scams pertaining to cryptocurrency and investments are the most common ones people fall for.
Consumers collectively lost nearly $4 billion just to these cons alone in 2022. That marks an over 100% rise in successful scams since the year prior.
When many Americans think about scams, they assume older people who may have less knowledge about technology remain more vulnerable. However, people between the ages of 20 and 29 actually fell for fraudsters more often than folks between 50 and 59.
