Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: Consumer Federation: Online scams cost Americans approximately $119 billion per year, (Mar 12, 2026)

By A. Bryan Gerepka

Group says the devastating scale of losses represents a crisis that demands swift and unflinching attention, as people increasingly feel unsafe online.

Americans are losing an estimated $119 billion every year to online scams, more than seven times higher than the total reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2024, according to a new report—"The Scam Economy”—issued by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).

While $119 billion represents a more comprehensive assessment of the direct annual cost to individuals, the true cost is still understated, the group claimed. The total impact on the U.S. economy is likely higher, the report continued, as it does not capture business and other secondary losses associated with scams, such as legal fees, lost productivity, and other indirect costs, as well as impacts on international victims. If the true cost of the scam economy goes unreported, fraudsters are empowered to claim more victims, the group argued.

The CFA recommended that platforms create safer design features that limit fraud, including providing stronger default privacy settings, enhancing identity protection tools to detect and prevent fraudulent profiles, and establishing stronger fraud reporting systems for users.

Ongoing cost to Americans. In 2024, Americans reported losing $16.6 billion to online scams, a 33 percent increase from the previous year, underscoring the rapidly growing threat of digital fraud, the report stated. Moreover, the types and variety of scams continue to expand and evolve. The most frequent scams targeting Americans are investment scams (estimated $46.6 billion in losses), followed by email targeting scams ($19.7 billion lost), tech support scams ($10.4 billion in losses), nonpayment and delivery scams ($5.6 billion lost), romance scams ($4.7B lost), and government impersonation scams ($2.9B).

Scams thrive on social media platforms. The report identified Meta’s platforms—Facebook at 57 percent, Instagram at 22 percent and WhatsApp at 8 percent—as the top three online platforms associated with scams, citing a Better Business Bureau report. The Global Anti-Scam Alliance, in a 2025 report, found that 81% of all scam attempts in the US occurred on direct-messaging platforms. Further, no action was taken after consumers complained, according to the report, citing data from Global Anti-Scam Alliance and Better Business Bureau surveys.

Profit motive. The report alluded to a profit motive behind the proliferation of online scams, citing news reports from Reuters, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal to support its assertion. According to the CFA report, Reuters-reported that internal Meta documents projected roughly 10 percent of its 2024 revenue—about $16 billion—would come from ads promoting scams and banned goods. Reuters also reported that Meta directed its own staff not to take action that would threaten more than 0.15 percent of the company’s revenue.-The New York Times also reported that Meta-allowed scammers to run over 150,000 political advertising scams-involving deepfakes and misleading paid content, which earned the company over $49 million over seven years, the report stated. Another article in the Wall Street Journal stated that Meta, which the article called “a cornerstone of the internet fraud economy,” allows suspicious advertisers to accrue up to 32 automated ‘strikes’ for financial fraud before Meta bans their accounts.

“Social media has become a prime hunting ground for scammers to swindle Americans out of nearly $119 billion a year. This report makes it clear that accountability is long overdue,”-said Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). “The devastating scale of losses represents a crisis that demands swift and unflinching attention, as people increasingly feel unsafe online,”-said CFA Director of AI and Privacy Ben Winters.-“These statistics show that action across the economy – increasing platform liability, shutting down data brokers, improving reporting mechanisms, regulating generative AI, and beefing up consumer protection enforcement resources – are not only exciting ideas but mandates for a safe future.”

Congressional action. Senator Galleo and Rep. Lou Corriea (D-Cal.) touted their Safeguarding Consumers from Advertising Misconduct Act (SCAM Act), introduced in February 2026, which aims to combat online scams. It requires social media companies to actively remove scam ads and protect consumers from fraud. If companies are making money by pushing ads onto users’ feeds, they have a responsibility to make sure those ads aren’t fraudulent, Galleo stated. “My SCAM Act would hold Big Tech accountable for stopping scam ads on their platforms and help protect consumers’ hard-earned money,” Correia added.

Impact on states. The human impact of online scams becomes clearer when analyzed based on each state’s unique demographics, business profile, and per capita impact. While California ($18.1 billion-$460 per resident), Texas ($9.7 billion-$309 per resident), and Florida ($7.7 billion-$328 per resident) lead in total losses, smaller states often bear a heavier burden relative to population. In 2024, Nevada ($588 per resident), Wyoming ($530), and the District of Columbia ($2,965) experienced the highest per-capita scam and cybercrime losses, far exceeding the national average of roughly $288 per American per year.

Other states also experienced considerable losses due to their unique economies. For example, Michigan’s estimated true loss exceeds $1.7 billion every year, as the state’s disproportionately large manufacturing and auto industries are vulnerable to pension and employment scams, the report found. On the other hand, scammers targeted South Carolina and Nebraska’s tourism and agricultural economies, respectively. Estimated losses in New York ($6.5 billion-$325 per resident) were also considerable, as scammers targeted New York City’s status as the financial center of the country and its diverse immigrant communities throughout the state, the report stated.

Companies: Better Business Bureau; Consumer Federation of America; Facebook; Global Anti-Scam Alliance; Instagram; WhatsApp

News: ConsumerProtection