The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released startling new data showing that social media scams have led to reported losses of $2.7 billion since 2021, surpassing losses attributed to any other contact method.
In a comprehensive data analysis, the FTC delves into the landscape of social media scams for the first half of 2023. Reports for this period reveal that the most commonly reported scams on social media are associated with online shopping, constituting 44% of all reports. Many of these reports concern fraudulent activities related to the purchase or sale of products online. Notably, a significant portion of these incidents involved individuals who never received the items they had ordered after engaging with advertisements on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
While online shopping scams are the most commonly reported scam on social media, the spotlight notes that scams using social media to promote bogus investment schemes account for larger overall losses, accounting for 53 percent of all the money reported lost to scams on social media in the first half of the year. Cryptocurrency played a significant role in the investment scams consumers reported; more than half of the reports showed that consumers paid the scammers using cryptocurrency.
After investment scams, the spotlight noted that romance scams accounted for the second-most reported scam losses on social media.
The FTC recommends that consumers take steps to limit who can see their posts or contact them on social media, and to reach out directly by phone if someone claiming to be a friend or relative messages on social media asking for money. A full list of tips for consumers is included in the spotlight.
—————————————————————————————————
About Innovation Streets:
Welcome to InnovationStreets.com! Get the latest insights from the finance and technology industries. Discover industry updates on Fintech Innovations, Regulatory Developments, Industry Insights, Events, and Banks/Insurance partnerships with fintechs. A platform for C-level executives to submit Thought Leadership content for their peers. Subscribe for updates!
