Imposter Scams Topped FTC Fraud Reports for Fifth Straight Year in 2025, Costing Consumers $3.5 Billion

Imposter scams ranked as the most reported category of fraud filed with the Federal Trade Commission for the fifth consecutive year in 2025, with roughly 1 million reports filed and collective losses reaching $3.5 billion, according to FTC data.

Total fraud losses reported to the FTC across all categories climbed to approximately $15.9 billion in 2025 — the highest figure on record and an increase of roughly 27% from $12.5 billion in 2024. Since 2020, reported losses have risen nearly 430%, the agency said.

While 80% of imposter scam victims reported no monetary loss, the remaining 20% accounted for the $3.5 billion figure. The median individual loss stood at $700, though the range extends considerably higher.

"The median loss is on the lower side but there is a very small percentage of consumers who are losing high six figures and up," said Patty Hsue, chief of staff for the FTC's Division of Marketing Practices. "There are definitely some consumers who have lost over $1 million."

Within the imposter scam category, business impersonators — criminals posing as representatives of banks, retailers, or other well-known companies — accounted for $1 billion in losses in 2025, up from $866 million in 2024. Government impersonators were responsible for another $920 million, compared with $789 million the prior year.

The trend of escalating losses is driven in large part by a sharp rise in high-dollar individual incidents. Scams resulting in losses of $100,000 or more among victims age 60 or older accounted for $1.6 billion, or 68%, of that group's total $2.4 billion in losses reported in 2024, according to the FTC's 2025 annual report to Congress.

"While we get tons and tons of imposter reports from people of all ages … older adults do tend to report more money losses than younger adults," Hsue said.

Investigators say scams are growing more operationally complex. Hsue described a hybrid scheme that opens with a business impersonation — a message appearing to come from a bank, Amazon, or a similar brand, warning that an account has been compromised. A criminal posing as a government agent from the FTC or FBI then instructs the victim to transfer funds for safekeeping.

"A fake government agent tells you that you need to move your money in order to protect your account," Hsue said. "The real risk with this … is that consumers really think they are moving their money to protect it." In some cases, victims liquidate bank accounts, Roth IRAs, and 401(k) balances, she said.

Artificial intelligence is compounding the difficulty of detection. Amy Nofziger, senior director of victim support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network, noted that the traditional advice of watching for spelling errors or poor grammar no longer holds. "With the tools available to criminals, they can make any text or email sound 100% correct," she said.

Nofziger said most scams share common characteristics: they arrive unexpectedly, create urgency, and ask victims to act in secrecy. "No legitimate opportunity will ask you to lie or keep it a secret," she said. She also flagged requests for money or personal information as the single clearest warning sign.

Separately, 62% of people surveyed said they had encountered financial fraud in the past three years or knew someone who had, according to a report from the CFP Board of Standards.

Hsue advised consumers to avoid responding directly to any suspicious communication and instead contact the purported organization independently. Caller ID and email sender fields can be spoofed, she noted, meaning the displayed identity of a contact cannot be taken at face value.

With AI-assisted fraud tools becoming more accessible and total reported losses on a steep upward trajectory, consumer protection advocates say awareness of evolving tactics remains among the most effective defenses available to the public.

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