In 2025, social media scams resulted in a loss of $2.1 billion for Americans.

      New data from the FTC published on Monday indicates that almost 30% of all reported scam losses in the previous year originated from social media. Investment scams alone accounted for $1.1 billion in losses, while shopping scams were the most commonly reported.

      Romance scams sourced from social media constituted 60% of reported cases. All age groups, apart from those over 80, experienced greater financial losses from social media scams than through any other means of contact.

      The Federal Trade Commission released additional information on Monday detailing that Americans lost $2.1 billion to scams initiated on social media in 2025, marking an eightfold increase since 2020, and surpassing losses from all other contact methods employed by scammers.

      Nearly 30% of individuals who reported losing money to scams indicated that the fraud started on a social media platform. Facebook recorded the highest number of reported losses, followed by WhatsApp and Instagram at a considerably lower level.

      In 2025, the amount lost to scams originating solely from Facebook was higher than the combined losses from text and email scams. Investment scams were the most financially devastating category, with individuals reporting $1.1 billion in losses from investment frauds that began on social media, representing over half of the total $2.1 billion.

      These schemes typically kick off with an advertisement or post that promises guidance on profitable investment strategies, develop into a "friendly adviser" relationship, and eventually lead victims to fraudulent investment platforms. A variant of this approach employs WhatsApp or Facebook groups filled with alleged "successful investors" who share fake testimonials to create false social credibility before soliciting investments.

      Shopping scams were the most frequently reported type, making up more than 40% of social media scam reports. Victims often stated they ordered items seen in social media advertisements, such as clothing, cosmetics, car parts, and pets, but either received nothing, were sent poor-quality replicas, or were redirected to websites mimicking well-known brands with attractive discounts.

      The FTC pointed out that scammers utilize the same targeted advertising tools as legitimate businesses, leveraging age, interests, and shopping data to pinpoint likely victims for each type of fraud.

      Romance scams are significantly prevalent on social media: almost 60% of individuals who reported financial losses from romance scams in 2025 claimed these scams started on a social media platform. Scammers analyze their targets’ profiles prior to initiating contact, customizing their initial approach to align with the target’s visible interests and circumstances, later creating fake emergencies requiring funds or introducing fraudulent investment opportunities within the relationship.

      The reported $2.1 billion figure is based solely on voluntary consumer reports to the FTC and is likely a significant underestimate of actual losses. The FTC has previously estimated that the overall cost of fraud to consumers could be as much as ten times higher than the reported figures, given that a majority of fraud victims do not submit formal complaints.

      Total fraud losses reported across all contact methods reached a record $15.9 billion in 2025, up from $12.5 billion in 2024, with investment scams across all channels responsible for $7.9 billion, or about half of the total losses.

      The $2.1 billion attributed to social media represents roughly 13% of all reported fraud losses, making it the largest single source despite this relatively concentrated share.

      The FTC's data also categorizes losses by age. All age groups except those 80 and over indicated they lost more to scams that originated on social media than through any other means. Among those over 80, phone calls remained the primary method for reported losses, with social media in second place. The dominance of social media as the leading source of fraud across all other age groups reflects both the penetration of these platforms and the increasingly sophisticated targeting capabilities accessible to fraudsters, who can afford low-cost targeted advertising aimed at specific demographic segments.