Scam activity across the United States has exploded to unprecedented levels in recent years, with nearly every American now facing regular targeting by fraudulent actors, according to a new joint investigation from The Associated Press and FRONTLINE. Federal data shows reported total losses from scams reached a new high of $15.9 billion last year, marking a 25% jump from 2024. But officials warn this official figure is a massive undercount: the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates actual total losses for 2024 are closer to $200 billion — equal to roughly $550 million stolen from consumers every single day.
The collaborative investigation, which included in-depth interviews with 58 scam victims across the country, reveals that even after decades of legislative and administrative efforts to curb fraud under multiple presidential administrations, most people who fall victim to scams face almost no path to recover their stolen funds, and many end up suffering additional financial and personal harm. New polling from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research underscores the pervasiveness of the threat: 98% of U.S. adults report they have been targeted by scam communications, with many receiving fraudulent attempts daily. Three in 10 respondents confirmed they have already lost money or sensitive personal information to scams.
The 58 victims interviewed for the investigation span every demographic, ranging in age from 32 to 90 years old, and including white-collar professionals such as IT specialists and academics, as well as working-class people living paycheck to paycheck. Individual losses ranged from several thousand dollars to as much as $4 million per person. Only one interviewee managed to recover their stolen funds, via a refund from their bank. The psychological toll on victims was severe: multiple respondents reported they had considered suicide after their losses, and two said they had attempted to take their own lives.
Beyond the initial loss of funds, many victims face unexpected secondary penalties that leave them even worse off financially. Under a permanent provision of the Trump administration’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, personal losses from most common scams are no longer eligible for tax deductions — a change that eliminated a key break that previously let victims offset their stolen income. For retirees who withdraw money from tax-deferred retirement accounts only to have it stolen by scammers, the Internal Revenue Service still requires them to pay income tax on the withdrawn funds, meaning they owe taxes on money that no longer exists in their possession.
Many financial institutions also compound victims’ struggles, with some blaming customers for the fraud or even accusing them of being complicit in the scam. Victims reported having their bank accounts abruptly frozen or closed without warning, being forced to pay unexpected legal fees, and being held liable for repayment of fraudulent loans taken out in their names. Industry representatives note that banks already allocate significant resources to stopping unauthorized fraud, but current U.S. law places almost no liability on financial institutions for transactions that customers authorize themselves — even if that authorization was obtained through deception.
The investigation also found that the United States lags far behind many other developed nations in putting consumer protections in place for scam victims. Since late 2024, United Kingdom financial institutions have been required to reimburse customers who are tricked into transferring funds to scammers, and trained social workers are often deployed to support affected people. The European Union has implemented new rules that hold financial firms liable for stolen funds if they fail to put adequate anti-fraud safeguards in place, while its Digital Services Act mandates that online platforms remove reported scam content quickly. In Australia, banks, telecom providers, and digital platforms can face heavy fines or be forced to compensate victims if they do not take sufficient action to prevent scams. Singapore goes even further: the country requires banks and telecom companies to refund victims of certain phishing scams if they fail to meet mandatory security standards, and operates a centralized national anti-scam center where police work alongside bank and platform staff in person to freeze fraudulent transfers before funds are lost.
The rapid growth of cryptocurrency has amplified the scam crisis significantly, experts note. As a decentralized, hard-to-trace form of digital cash, crypto allows scammers to steal funds and move them across borders quickly without leaving a clear paper trail that authorities can follow. While major economies like China have banned unregulated crypto activity entirely and the EU has implemented strict licensing, consumer protection, and disclosure requirements for crypto firms, U.S. regulatory frameworks remain full of gaps. The GENIUS Act, a crypto regulation bill signed into law by President Donald Trump last year, did not include any requirement for crypto companies to return stolen funds to scam victims — a gap that has drawn widespread criticism from consumer advocates, prosecutors, and even some lawmakers. Unlike traditional bank deposits, crypto assets are not backed by federal deposit insurance, and many major crypto exchanges operate through offshore entities outside the reach of U.S. law enforcement and regulation.
In recent months, the U.S. federal government has begun to acknowledge the scale of the crisis and has taken initial steps to address it. Congress is currently considering more than a dozen separate anti-scam bills, ranging from legislation that would create a centralized national scam complaint portal to requirements for transparency around AI-generated deepfake content that is often used to defraud consumers. In November, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a dedicated strike force targeting transnational scam operations based in Southeast Asia, which are responsible for a large share of global fraud activity, and the Treasury Department has levied sanctions against these criminal networks. In March, Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Attorney General to prioritize scammer prosecutions and develop a new federal program to help victims recover stolen funds.
Even with these new efforts underway, however, current initiatives are failing to keep pace with the rapid growth of scam activity, and anti-fraud governance remains fragmented across the federal government. A recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that at least 13 separate federal agencies oversee different aspects of fraud prevention and victim support, with no unified coordination structure. The FBI’s Operation Level Up, one of the most active federal intervention programs, has prevented roughly 8,500 people from falling for scams over the past two years via proactive intervention calls. But that number represents only a tiny fraction of affected Americans: the FBI receives an average of nearly 3,000 internet crime complaints every day through its IC3.gov reporting portal.
This investigation is part of an ongoing collaborative project between The Associated Press and FRONTLINE (PBS), and will be accompanied by the documentary “Scammed,” set to premiere September 29 on PBS and its digital platforms. The Associated Press receives funding from multiple private foundations for investigative work, and maintains full editorial control over all content.