Americans Lose $2,100,000,000 in One Year As Social Media Scammers Hack Accounts, Target Victims With Ads: FTC

US regulators say people lost more money on scams perpetrated using social media than through any other medium last year.

New data based on reports to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) show that in 2025, nearly 30% of the people who lost money to a scam said that the scheme started on social media.

Losses reached $2.1 billion, representing an eightfold increase since 2020. The amount is likely higher since most scams are not reported.

The FTC says social media creates easy access to billions of people worldwide making it easier for scammers to execute their schemes at very little cost.

“Scammers may hack a user’s account, exploit what a user posts to figure out how to target them, or buy ads and use the same tools used by real businesses to target people by age, interests or shopping habits.”

Victims lost more money on scams that started on Facebook, followed by WhatsApp and Instagram. People also lost more money on Facebook than through text or email scams. 

The biggest losses stemmed from investment scams, which siphoned $1.1 billion or more than half of the money reported lost. 

Meanwhile, shopping scams were the most reported of the fraudulent schemes on social media with more than 40% of the people who lost money reported ordering things such as clothes, car parts and even puppies through the platform.

Bad actors also use social media to carry out romance scams. The report says nearly 60% of the people who reported losing money to this type of fraud said it started on a social media platform.

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