Fighting Fraud
By Better Business Bureau Serving Greater Cleveland
Better Business Bureau® (BBB®) has released its 2024 Scam Tracker Risk Report. This report compiles data submitted by consumers to BBB Scam TrackerSM to detect the methods scammers use, who is being targeted, and which scams have the greatest impact.
More than 80 percent of people who were targeted by investment/cryptocurrency scams, the No. 1 riskiest, reported losing money to BBB Scam TrackerSM. It also had the second-highest median dollar loss at $5,000. Investment scams take many forms, including pressure to purchase, trade, or store digital assets (cryptocurrency) with fraudulent exchanges.
Employment scam reports remained the No. 2 scam type in 2024, making up about 14% of all reported scams. Employment scams had a $1,500 median dollar loss.
Romance/friendship scams rose to No. 3 riskiest, with the highest median dollar loss of all scam types ($6,099).
Online purchase (shopping) scams dropped further down the list this year, landing at No. 4 riskiest. This year, 30.3% of scams submitted to BBB Scam Tracker were online purchase scams, and 87.5% reported losing money.
“Scammers are investing more time in gaining their victims’ trust, leading to substantial financial losses,” says Pamela Anson, President and CEO of Better Business Bureau Serving Greater Cleveland.
“If someone you met online is eager to ‘help’ you invest your money, consider it a major red flag—it’s likely a scam.”
Key findings of the report include:
- According to our survey research, 29.6% said their mental health was impacted by the scam incident. The top emotions people felt following the scam were anger (60.3%), loss of trust (54.0%), and anxiety/stress/trauma (53.5%).
- Those who engaged with the scammer for more than one day were more likely to report losing money.
- Credit cards remained the most reported payment method with a monetary loss, followed by bank account debit and online payment system (digital payment app). Reports of people paying scammers with cryptocurrency rose from 3.0% in 2023 to 4.8% in 2024.
The five most impersonated organizations reported to BBB Scam Tracker in 2023:
• Publishers Clearing House
• U.S. Postal Service
• PayPal
• Amazon
• Spectrum
A list of the top 20 is provided in the report. For more highlights from the 2024 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report, visit BBBMarketplaceTrust.org/RiskReport.
If you’ve been the victim of a scam on social media, report it to the BBB Scam Tracker. Your report helps us build consumer awareness and reduce the effectiveness of scammers’ favorite tactics. Have additional questions? Reach out to your BBB at 216.241.7678 or [email protected].
