Social media fraud resulted in a loss of $2.1 billion for Americans in 2025.

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

      Romance scams were found to begin on social media in 60% of reported instances. All age groups, except those over 80, reported greater financial losses from social media scams than from any other means of contact. The Federal Trade Commission's new data shows that in 2025, Americans lost $2.1 billion to scams originating on social media, reflecting an eightfold increase since 2020 and surpassing all other methods used by scammers to reach victims.

      Nearly 30% of individuals reporting financial losses stated that their scams began on a social media platform. Facebook was responsible for the highest reported losses, followed by WhatsApp and Instagram. In 2025, the amount lost to scams starting on Facebook exceeded the total losses from all text and email scams combined.

      Investment scams proved to be the most damaging financially, with losses of $1.1 billion from social media-originating scams, which made up more than half of the total $2.1 billion. These types of schemes generally start with ads or posts promising profitable investing strategies, develop into a “friendly adviser” relationship, and eventually lead victims to fraudulent investment platforms. A variant of the scam employs WhatsApp or Facebook groups filled with seemingly successful investors sharing fake testimonials to create a false sense of security before soliciting investments.

      Shopping scams were reported most frequently, comprising over 40% of social media-related scam reports. Victims typically stated they ordered items advertised on social media, including clothing, cosmetics, car parts, and pets, but often received nothing, a poor-quality imitation, or were directed to a website impersonating a well-known brand offering significant discounts.

      The FTC noted that scammers utilize the same targeted advertising tools as legitimate businesses, using age, interest, and shopping data to identify likely victims for each type of fraud. Romance scams are particularly concentrated on social media, with nearly 60% of individuals reporting financial losses to romance scams in 2025 indicating they began on social platforms.

      Scammers analyze their targets' profiles before making initial contact, tailoring their approach to align with the target's apparent interests and situations. They may later invent crises needing financial support or introduce false investment opportunities as a secondary scheme within the relationship.

      The reported $2.1 billion loss figure is based on voluntary consumer reports to the FTC and is likely a significant underestimation of actual losses, as many fraud victims do not formally report their experiences. Previous estimates by the FTC suggest that the total cost of fraud to consumers could be as much as ten times higher than reported figures, given the number of unreported cases.

      Total reported fraud losses across all methods reached a record $15.9 billion in 2025, rising from $12.5 billion in 2024, with investment scams across all channels contributing $7.9 billion, approximately half of the total. The $2.1 billion attributed to social media constitutes about 13% of the overall reported fraud losses, making it the largest single origin channel despite its relatively concentrated share.

      The FTC data also analyzes losses by age group. All age demographics except those aged 80 and over reported higher losses to scams originating on social media compared to other contact methods. For the over-80 group, phone calls remained the primary method of scam losses, with social media coming in second. The dominance of social media as the leading source of fraud across nearly all other age groups highlights both the widespread use of these platforms and the increasingly advanced targeting capabilities available to fraudsters, who can purchase low-cost access to targeted demographics.