People In The U.S. Lost $770 Million To Social Media Scams In 2021 Says FTC

The FTC reveals people in the United States lost $770 million to social media scams in 2021.

Source: Jordi Calvera Solé / EyeEm / Getty

Online scams have been around for forever, but in the old days, it was weird romance scams older people fell for in chatrooms. They would spend thousands of dollars on someone they never met until they had nothing left.

In the current age, scams can happen everywhere; Almost every time you swipe your card there is a high probability your information could be stolen. Even on dating apps, people flirt and get their victims to send revealing pictures or information and turn around and threaten to use it against you if you don’t pay. A new report from the FTC reveals people in the United States lost a whopping $770 million to social media scams in 2021.

More than 95,000 people reported about $770 million in losses to fraud initiated on social media platforms in 2021.[3] Those losses account for about 25% of all reported losses to fraud in 2021 and represent a stunning eighteenfold increase over 2017 reported losses. Reports are up for every age group, but people 18 to 39 were more than twice as likely as older adults to report losing money to these scams in 2021.

The most surprising part in this new report is the age group, it’s not your granny getting finessed these days, it’s your peers. Hopefully, this year, people will be smarter about what they click on and who they send money to. Be smart and think twice, it could happen to you!