The US (FTC) reports that Americans lost over $10 billion to fraud in 2023, a 14% increase over the previous year.
See also: FTC: Bans data-forwarding company from selling Americans' location data
Notably, Chainalysis reports that ransomware groups also had a historic year, with ransom payments reaching $1.1 billion in 2023.
Over 2.6 million American consumers filed fraud reports with FTX last year, a figure that is virtually unchanged from 2022. Fake identity fraud emerged as the most frequently reported fraud category, with a troubling increase in business and government breach reports
Immediately following are online shopping scams , followed by reports of giveaways, contests and lotteries, as well as investment and job opportunity or business plan scams.
“Consumers reported losing more money to investment fraud – more than $4.6 billion – than any other category in 2023. This amount represents a 21% increase over 2022,” according to the FTC.
Last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) added 5.4 million fraud reports filed by Americans to the Consumer Sentinel Network (Sentinel) secure online database , while receiving more than 1.1 million identity theft reports through the agency's IdentityTheft.gov website
See also: FTC bans InMarket Media from selling user location data
However, the data released today by the Federal Trade Commission reflects only a small portion of the actual damage caused by fraud in 2023, since most of it is never reported.
Those who have fallen victim to fraud can report incidents at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or file identity theft reports at IdentityTheft.gov.
Once included in the FTC’s database, fraud reports filed by U.S. citizens are made available to approximately 2,800 law enforcement professionals at the federal, state, local and international levels. They help investigators identify fraudsters, making it easier to spot trends and inform the public about fraud attempts.
You can find a complete breakdown of reports made in 2023, including statistics for states and urban areas, on the FTC's data analysis website at ftc.gov/exploredata.
See also: Blackbaud data breach: FTC calls for security enhancements
How can you recognize the signs of a potential financial scam?
One of the most common signs of a financial scam is overly-good offers. If someone offers you an investment with incredibly high returns and minimal risk, it's likely a scam.
Another sign may be pressure to act immediately. Scammers often try to pressure you into making decisions quickly, without giving you a chance to consider their proposal.
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Also, financial scams often come with unclear or complicated information. If you can't understand how an investment works, or if the information you're given is unclear or complicated, this could be a sign of a scam.
Finally, a major sign of fraud is the absence of written documentation. Any legitimate investment or deal should be accompanied by written documents explaining the terms and conditions. If these documents are missing, you should be very careful.
Source: bleepingcomputer
