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A third of all scam victims were hit by social media fraud — and losses are in the billions of dollars: FTC

Nypost · · 771 words · By Reda Wigle
Consumer Fraud Social Media Danger
open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/28/tech/a-third-of-all-scam-victims-were-hit-by-socia…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
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Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.
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Exaggeration / Hyperbole 60% confidence
Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

14 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

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help Insufficient Evidence 2
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“According to the Federal Trade Commission, nearly 30% of people who reported being scammed in 2025 said the swindle began on social media.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results cite the FTC stating that nearly 30% of people who reported being scammed in 2025 said the swindle began on social media. This is reported across multiple search snippets.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Federal Trade Commission v. Microsoft Corp. and Activision Blizzard, Inc. was a lawsuit brought against multinational technology corporation Microsoft and video game holding company Activision Blizzar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTC_v._Microsoft
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consum…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trade_Commission
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Project 2025 (also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project) is a political initiative published in April 2023 by the Heritage Foundation with the goal of reshaping the U.S. federal governmen…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The agency said losses from these scams reached $2.1 billion in 2025, eight times the amount reported in 20220.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results cite the FTC stating that losses from social media scams reached $2.1 billion in 2025, and that this represented an eightfold increase since 2020.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — FTC may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTC
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consum…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trade_Commission
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lina Maliha Khan (born March 3, 1989) is a British and American legal scholar who was the chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 2021 to 2025. She is also an associate professor at Columbia …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Khan
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“All age groups, except those 80 and over, reported losing more money to scams that started on social media than to any other contact method.”
CORROBORATED
The web search results indicate that 'All age groups except the over-80s lost more to social media scams than any other contact method.' This specific finding is reported across multiple search results.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — For or FOR may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — YouTube is an American online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim, and Steve Chen who were all former employees of PayPal. He…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“For the 80+ crowd, social media scams ranked second after phone calls.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results state that for those 80 and over, phone calls remained the top method of loss, and social media ranked second.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 80 may refer to: 80 (number), the natural number following 79 and preceding 81 one of the years 80 BC, AD 80, 1980, 2080, 2180 B. B. King & Friends: 80, an album released in 2005 80 (Tolis Voskopoul…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 80 for Brady is a 2023 American sports comedy film directed by Kyle Marvin in his directorial debut from a screenplay by Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern, and produced by former NFL quarterback Tom Bra…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_for_Brady
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Pareto principle (also known as the 80:20 rule, the law of the vital few and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes (…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Shopping scams are the most commonly reported social media scam; more than 40% of victims say the scheme began when they ordered something they’d seen in an ad.”
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Multiple web search results confirm that shopping scams were the most commonly reported type, with victims often citing ordering something seen in an ad, accounting for over 40% of reports.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shop may refer to: Retail shop, possibly within a marketplace Shopping, to shop
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shop
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A typology of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term mall originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 19…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_mall
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Meta reportedly determined that about one-quarter of all scam ads on its platforms originated from sources in China – more than any other country.”
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Two web search results report that Meta reportedly determined that about one-quarter of all scam ads originated from China, and that this was more than any other country.
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web search NEUTRAL — Meta Platforms, Inc. (doing business as Meta) is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_Platforms
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web search NEUTRAL — At one point, Meta reportedly determined that about one-quarter of all scam ads on its platforms originated from sources on China – more than any other country. Meta employees described China in inter…
https://nypost.com/2025/12/16/business/mark-zuckerbergs-meta…
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web search NEUTRAL — The report says Meta brought in more than $3 billion from China in 2023 alone, largely from ads linked to illegal gambling, pornography, and other scams. That amount accounted for nearly 19 percent of…
https://www.waredata.com/reuters-meta-earned-billions-from-s…
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“While shopping scams were the most pervasive social media con, investment scams were the most financially devastating.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results state that while shopping scams were the most frequently reported, investment scams were the most financially damaging category.
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web search NEUTRAL — A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, com…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scam
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web search NEUTRAL — Shopping scams were the most frequently reported.Investment scams were the most financially damaging category. People reported $1.1 billion in losses from investment scams originating on social media,…
https://thenextweb.com/news/ftc-social-media-scams-2-1-billi…
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web search NEUTRAL — Shopping scams were the most reported scam on social media. Scammers post ads offering high-priced items for cheap.
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2026/04/how-spot-to…
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“More than half of the reported losses, some $1.1 billion, were attributed to investment scammers.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that investment scams accounted for over half of the reported losses, amounting to approximately $1.1 billion.
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web search NEUTRAL — A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, com…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scam
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web search NEUTRAL — Investment scams: People reported losing the most amount of money last year to investment scams that originated on social media, with losses of $1.1 billion, more than half of the total amount lost to…
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/04/…
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web search NEUTRAL — Romance scams: Nearly 60% of reported romance scam losses began on social media, where scammers build relationships before asking for money or steering victims into fake investments.
https://wgme.com/news/i-team/21-billion-lost-to-social-media…
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“According to reports, nearly 60% of people who lost money to a romance scam in 2025 said it started on a social media platform.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was gathered for this claim, and the provided evidence set contained no relevant search results or cross-references to confirm the 60% figure for romance scams.
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“A recent analysis of reports about fake rental home listings found that about half were posted on Facebook.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was gathered for this claim, and the provided evidence set contained no relevant search results or cross-references to confirm the proportion of fake rental listings on Facebook.
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“Americans are disproportionately affected by scamming, fielding nearly 100 scam attempts a month, the highest rate in the world.”
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“When the fraud reports mention where the victims got scammed, Facebook is cited a whopping 85% of the time, with WhatsApp and Instagram a distant second and third.”
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“Further, in 2025, users reported losing far more money to Facebook scams than to scams via text or email.”
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“Reuters earlier reported that Meta expected to earn $16 billion — or 10% of its revenue — by running scam ads.”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.