In 2024, consumers lost an estimated $12.5 billion to scams in the United States, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) consumer-reported data, though the true figure may be closer to $200 billion due to underreporting. Globally, over $1 trillion was stolen from consumers in the same year.
The Treasury Department reported that Americans lost at least $10 billion to Southeast Asia-based scam operations in 2024, marking a 66 percent increase from the previous year. The United Nations estimates that the scam workforce involves 300,000 laborers from 66 countries, with nearly half confined within scam compounds in Myanmar and Cambodia.
The FBI’s Operation Level Up, launched in 2024, has proactively identified and contacted thousands of scam victims before their losses escalated, presenting a potentially scalable model for combating the crisis.
Experts urge the federal government to prioritize international enforcement, institutional information sharing, and corporate accountability to address the growing sophistication and scale of the criminal scam industry. However, the government’s response has been described as largely negligent amid this expanding threat.
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