FTC: Americans Lost Record $3.5 Billion to Imposter Scams in 2025

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has revealed that Americans lost a record $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, with reported losses nearly tripling since 2020 and accounting for nearly one in three fraud reports filed with the agency. Imposter fraud remained the most reported scam category last year, with fraudsters reaching victims through text messages, phone calls, emails, social media platforms, and manipulated search engine results. The costliest schemes typically involve a fake bank security alert pressuring targets to transfer funds to a supposed "safe" account to protect their assets. Victims can proactively verify their exposure by running an email through an email breach checker and reviewing their overall digital exposure with a privacy checkup.

According to FTC data, business impersonators accounted for nearly $1 billion in losses, with bank impersonators driving the most lucrative schemes, while government impersonators stole approximately $920 million. Social media emerged as the most cost-effective attack vector for scammers, generating more than $2.1 billion in 2025 losses—roughly an eightfold increase since 2020. Nearly one in three Americans who lost money to imposter scams were first contacted through social media, with Facebook losses alone exceeding those from text messages and email combined. WhatsApp and Instagram ranked second and third as originating platforms, underscoring how threat actors are exploiting messaging ecosystems and platform trust to bypass traditional email defenses.

"The FTC will use every tool available to combat one of the most pernicious forms of fraud—government and business impersonation—and to protect the integrity of the digital economy," said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Total reported fraud losses across all categories surged to approximately $16 billion in 2025, the highest figure on record and roughly 25% above the prior year. Since its Impersonation Rule took effect in April 2024, the FTC has brought a dozen enforcement actions, securing more than $70 million in consumer redress. Targets have included MediaAlpha, American Tax Service, Blackstone Legal, Click Profit, and Accelerated Debt Settlement. In April 2026, the agency also filed a complaint against Innovative Partners, alleging the company impersonated the government and insurance carriers to sell fraudulent health plans. The same month, the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report revealed U.S. victims lost almost $21 billion to cyber-enabled crimes overall, reinforcing the scale of the threat.

For individuals and security teams seeking to reduce their attack surface, the FTC's findings highlight the importance of hardening authentication credentials—starting with running any exposed passwords through a password checker—and scrutinizing unsolicited messages regardless of the platform on which they arrive.