The Size of the Problem

A wide view of a small American town at blue hour, seen from a hill: rows of houses and apartment windows glowing warm, and in many windows small silhouettes holding glowing phones to their ears or looking at screens.

Americans reported losing a record $15.9 billion to scams in 2025. That is up more than $3 billion from the year before.^[1] Fraud losses have jumped 430% since 2020.^[1] And those are only the cases people actually reported. What makes that number hit harder: the sharp rise was driven by more people losing very large amounts ($100,000 or more) in a single scam^[2].

Scammers go after everybody. When older adults are targeted, the amount they lose tends to be far higher than for any other age group.^[2] Not because they are less sharp. Because they have spent a lifetime saving.